A former employee of Ingredient, 947 Massachusetts St., filed a lawsuit against the restaurant last week in federal court, alleging civil rights violations.

Rueben Madrigal, employed at the restaurant until August, says he was “harassed by the co-owner, managers and my co-workers because of my disability and nation origin,” according to court documents.

Madrigal, who in the court documents says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, alleges that employees would continually come up behind him and make loud noises, startling him. Madrigal says that he informed management but that no action was taken.

Madrigal is seeking $75,000 in damages.

In the lawsuit, Madrigal states that he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued him a letter of “no finding.”

Ingredient owner Nick Wysong was initially not aware of the lawsuit.

“I’m sad to read that,” said Wysong after being provided a copy of the lawsuit by the Journal-World.

Wysong said he was aware that Madrigal had filed complaints through other avenues, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but that none of those complaints had shown any findings of civil rights violations.