A longtime restaurant manager is suing a Tennessee restaurant company and its owner, alleging he subjected her to racial harassment and told her she was not wanted at the restaurant because she is Black.
Tammy Dawn Waller, a biracial woman who worked for Copper Cellar Corporation for 40 years, filed a federal lawsuit against the company and its owner, Michael Chase, on September 15, according to WVLT.
The lawsuit centers on an encounter at a Copper Cellar location in Knox County on September 22, 2025. Waller was helping a coworker with a customer’s bill when Chase allegedly approached her and asked, “What are you doing here?”
When Waller said she was working, Chase allegedly responded, “They don’t like you here, you’re Black!” He then allegedly told her, “I need you off my payroll.”
According to the lawsuit, Chase also made comments about Waller’s weight, telling her, “You’re fat, you need to get some weight off you.” He allegedly commented on her husband’s weight as well.
Several employees, including people Waller supervised, witnessed the exchange, according to the complaint. Waller said she was “visibly upset and humiliated” and reported the incident to company leaders before leaving the restaurant.
The lawsuit describes the incident as “a racially motivated act” by Chase, who Waller says had ultimate authority over her employment.
Waller also alleges that Chase had a pattern of harassing employees and would tell them there was “nothing anyone could do to him because he was the owner.”
She additionally claimed that before the September 2025 incident, she complained to the company’s human resources director after another employee said she heard Chase use the N-word while discussing Black people with a customer.
The lawsuit accuses Chase and Copper Cellar of violating federal and Tennessee civil rights laws. Waller is seeking up to $1.2 million in compensatory damages and up to $3 million in punitive damages for each count, along with back pay and other relief.
The case follows a separate lawsuit filed in June by longtime Copper Cellar employee Jessica Henry, who accused Chase of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, according to WBIR.
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