Ruby Tuesday Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Settled at $100,000

Ruby Tuesday Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Settled at $100,000

The Federal agency, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled that the International restaurant chain, Ruby Tuesday, Inc., shall pay $100,000 and implement preventative measures to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit.

This decision comes after the lawsuit filed against the restaurant back in 2013. The restaurant denied two of its male employees, namely Andrew Herrera and Joshua Bell the opportunity to work as servers and/or bartenders in its Park City, Utah, location. The restaurant had posted an internal announcement within a nine-state region that included Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, and Utah for temporary summer positions with company-provided housing and the chance for greater earning. However, this benefit was limited to only female employees which resulted in Bell and Herrera being barred from an opportunity to make some extra bucks. The EEOC filed a case on behalf of the two males against Ruby Tuesday, alleging gender discrimination in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. (EEOC v. Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Case No. 6:15-cv-00109-MC)[1].

The suit was filed with claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act, 1991. While the former prohibits employers from giving more advantageous terms and conditions of employment to one group of individuals based on gender, the latter concentrates on the damages that be recovered for such intentional discrimination.

The court ruled that along with paying damages to the aggrieved, the restaurant will further provide training to all of its managers and employees educating them about Title VII and job assignments in the nine-state area covered by the EEOC’s lawsuit for the duration of the three-year decree. This will include an approximate number of around 1,600 managers and employees at the restaurant’s 49 different locations. Adding to this, the EEOC San Francisco Regional Attorney William R. Tamayo responded that:[2]

“Ruby Tuesday will take affirmative steps to make sure its managers do not make gender-based employment decisions again, even if it only involves temporary summer assignments.”

He added further:

“All managers and employees should know that making personnel decisions based on an employee’s sex is rarely permitted under federal law.”

The restaurant is also required to keep EEOC informed about its training efforts, as well as post reminders of this resolution on its website and at its restaurants.