The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that Cheesecake Factory Inc. will pay $345,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing it of allowing male kitchen staffers to sexually harass other male workers in a restaurant near Phoenix.

The federal agency said the settlement of the lawsuit filed 16 months ago required the Calabasas Hills restaurant chain to improve training and appoint an ombudsman to address sexual harassment claims by employees.

The lawsuit alleged company managers knew about repeated sexual assaults against six male employees by a group of male kitchen staffers at a restaurant in Chandler, Ariz., but did not intervene.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake issued a consent decree for the settlement on Nov. 5. The company denied the EEOC's allegations, and settled solely to avoid the expense and inconvenience of further investigation and litigation, the judge noted in his decree.

The company has not issued a statement about the settlement.

Shares closed down 5 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $18.81 on the Nasdaq.