The 7th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Sadistic Chef

A jury just awarded $3.15 million to 22-year-old Andrew DeBellis—a sous chef who, over a brutal 2.5-month stretch, was punched, slapped, kicked, and emotionally destroyed inside the kitchen of fine-dining restaurant Margotto Hawaii.

Not by a rogue coworker.
Not in a moment of heat.
But daily.
By his executive chef—and with full knowledge of the owner.

The details are appalling. 

The 6th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Terrible Trafficker

HotHead Grabba is now officially in the hot seat.

A 74-count indictment charges owner Hunter Segree and two managers with operating a tobacco-processing sweatshop and exploiting its immigrant workforce.

The 5th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Predator Manager

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against Franchise Management LLC, the operator of over 20 Subway locations in the Beehive State, alleging that it failed to prevent the sexual harassment and assault of a 16-year-old male employee by a district manager.

The manager, Justin Nielson, reportedly made inappropriate sexual comments, asked the employee for photos of himself in his underwear, sent similar photos of his own, and ultimately assaulted the teenager during work hours.

The 4th nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Enslaving Executives

OneTaste, a San Francisco-based "wellness" company, claimed to offer empowerment through "orgasmic meditation." However, federal prosecutors allege that behind this façade, founder Nicole Daedone and former Head of Sales Rachel Cherwitz orchestrated a years-long forced labor conspiracy.

Between 2004 and 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz allegedly targeted vulnerable individuals—often survivors of trauma—and lured them with promises of healing. If they couldn’t afford OneTaste's expensive courses (ranging into the tens of thousands), they were pressured into debt—with the company even helping them open credit cards. Members became reliant on OneTaste for food and shelter, lived under constant surveillance in communal homes, and were isolated from their support networks.

The indictment accuses Daedone and Cherwitz of using surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation to control members, effectively turning a wellness startup into an enslavement operation.

The 3rd nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Coprophilic Chief

"[The chief's] actions not only fail to meet the standards of professional conduct but also appear intended to humiliate me and other victims." That's according to a North Bergen, NJ, police officer speaking to People Magazine about his boss, Police Chief Robert Farley.

"Failing to meet the standards of professional conduct" might be understatement of the year. Farley is accused of horrific and unacceptable behavior. 

The 2nd nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Teenager Terrorizer

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against six related entities operating Taco Bell restaurants for allegedly allowing a senior area manager to sexually harass female employees, including teenagers, and retaliating against a worker who reported the misconduct.

The lawsuit claims that the manager engaged in persistent sexual harassment of multiple female employees, including some who were underage, on a near-daily basis. 

The 1st nominee for The Worst Employer of 2025 is … The Menstrual Marauder

"We can't hire you. You'll be absent too much due to your monthly cycle." That's the text a job applicant received from a hiring manager at a gym owned by Equinox Holdings after she requested to reschedule a second-round interview for a front desk job.

The applicant, who suffers from endometriosis, asked to delay the interview by a few days because of severe menstrual pain. Instead of accommodating her request, the gym declined to interview her further and hired a male applicant with no prior experience—despite her years of relevant experience working in similar roles at other gyms.