CHARLESTON, S.C. - The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing the operators of a Wendy's restaurant in Georgetown for sexual harassment, the agency said Thursday.

The suit alleges that since 1999, eight employees, including some as young as 16, were subjected to a sexually hostile working environment at the restaurant.

The women, some of whom were forced to resign, were verbally and physically sexually harassed by a male manager, the federal court suit alleges.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction as well as compensatory and punitive damages against two defendants - Palmetto Restaurant Group LLC and Carolina Restaurant Group, Inc. - which operate the franchise store.

"We don't tolerate harassment of any kind in our organization. We take this matter seriously," said Quint Graham, the president of Carolina Restaurant Group and Palmetto Restaurant Group.

"We have policies in place to prevent harassment," he said. "It would be inappropriate for us to comment further because the matter is in litigation."

He said Palmetto Restaurant Group operates 18 restaurants in South Carolina.