An Alabama-based franchisee of Applebee’s Services Inc. will pay $270,000 to resolve a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of female employees who alleged sex harassment and a hostile work environment. The EEOC alleged in a September 2024 lawsuit that a manager at Quality Restaurant Concepts LLC’s Chelsea, Ala., restaurant, along with several other male employees, made vulgar comments to and inappropriately touched female workers.