Hooters of America, LLC will pay $250,000 to settle the EEOC Race and Color Lawsuit.
Federal Agency Charged Restaurant Failed to Recall Employees of Color After COVID-19 Pandemic.
GREENSBORO, NC (STL.News) Hooters of America, LLC (HOA), a Georgia corporation operating a nationwide chain of restaurants known for wings, sports, and “Hooters Girls,” will pay $250,000 and provide other relief to settle a race and color discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced Tuesday.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Hooters located in Greensboro, North Carolina, laid off approximately 43 employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in the layoffs were a class of employees who were Black and/or had dark skin tones and worked as “Hooters Girls.” When HOA began recalling employees to return to work in May of 2020, HOA recalled primarily white employees and those with lighter skin tones. The lawsuit also alleged that Hooters Girls with dark skin tones experienced 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 color. 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) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.
In addition to paying $250,000 in damages to the affected employees, the three-year decree, which applies to stores covering four locations in North Carolina, prohibits HOA from making layoff or recall and rehire decisions after a layoff based on race or color in the future. The decree further prohibits HOAs from making these decisions using standards that allow for subjective determinations based on race or color. HOA must also 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 color,” said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office.
Samuel Williams, trial attorney in 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 color.”
