[US] Hooters ordered to Pay $250,000 to settle EEOC race and colourism lawsuit

Hooters of America, LLC, a Georgia-based corporation which operates a US-wide chain of restaurants known for chicken wings, sports and its servers dubbed 'Hooters Girls', will pay $250,000 and provide other relief to settle a race and colour discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Hooters restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina, laid off approximately 43 employees in response to the impact of the pandemic. The layoffs included a class of employees who were Black and/or had a dark skin tone and worked as Hooters Girls.  

In May 2020, the company began recalling employees to return to work but Hooters reportedly recalled primarily white employees and those with lighter skin tones. In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Hooters Girls with dark skin tones were subjected to racial hostility and observed preferential treatment of white employees while employed at the restaurant.

Such conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and colour. 

The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hooters of America, LLC, Civil Action No.: 1:23-cv-00722) following initial attempts to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

On top of paying $250,000 in damages to the affected employees, the three-year decree - applying to Hooters branches in four North Carolina locations - prohibits Hooters from making layoff, or recall and rehire decisions after a layoff, based on race or colour in the future. 

The decree also reportedly prohibits Hooters from making these decisions using standards that allow for subjective determinations based on race or colour. Hooters will now be required to conduct annual training, post a notice of employee rights, submit compliance reports to the EEOC and reassure the public that Hooters is an equal opportunity employer through a post on its Instagram feed. 

“This is a powerful resolution which serves the public interest, provides relief to the class of affected employees and helps protect current and future employees from unlawful discriminatory decision-making based on race or colour,” Melinda C. Dugas - regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office - said.

Samuel Williams - trial attorney for the EEOC’s Raleigh Area Office - said, “The law does not tolerate racial harassment in the workplace or an employer’s refusal to hire an employee because of their race or colour.”

Further information on race and colour-based discrimination is available here.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

Hooters of America, LLC, a Georgia-based corporation which operates a US-wide chain of restaurants known for chicken wings, sports and its servers dubbed 'Hooters Girls', will pay $250,000 and provide other relief to settle a race and colour discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Hooters restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina, laid off approximately 43 employees in response to the impact of the pandemic. The layoffs included a class of employees who were Black and/or had a dark skin tone and worked as Hooters Girls.  

In May 2020, the company began recalling employees to return to work but Hooters reportedly recalled primarily white employees and those with lighter skin tones. In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Hooters Girls with dark skin tones were subjected to racial hostility and observed preferential treatment of white employees while employed at the restaurant.

Such conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and colour. 

The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hooters of America, LLC, Civil Action No.: 1:23-cv-00722) following initial attempts to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

On top of paying $250,000 in damages to the affected employees, the three-year decree - applying to Hooters branches in four North Carolina locations - prohibits Hooters from making layoff, or recall and rehire decisions after a layoff, based on race or colour in the future. 

The decree also reportedly prohibits Hooters from making these decisions using standards that allow for subjective determinations based on race or colour. Hooters will now be required to conduct annual training, post a notice of employee rights, submit compliance reports to the EEOC and reassure the public that Hooters is an equal opportunity employer through a post on its Instagram feed. 

“This is a powerful resolution which serves the public interest, provides relief to the class of affected employees and helps protect current and future employees from unlawful discriminatory decision-making based on race or colour,” Melinda C. Dugas - regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office - said.

Samuel Williams - trial attorney for the EEOC’s Raleigh Area Office - said, “The law does not tolerate racial harassment in the workplace or an employer’s refusal to hire an employee because of their race or colour.”

Further information on race and colour-based discrimination is available here.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(Link and quotes via original reporting)