Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant chain based out of Louisville, Kentucky, has agreed to pay $12 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit that was filed way back in 2011. The lawsuit itself was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming the chain “violated federal laws by refusing to hire people age 40 and older for front-of-the-house jobs like hosts, bartenders, and servers.”
Texas Roadhouse has agreed to pay $12 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit that was filed way back in 2011. The lawsuit itself was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming the chain “violated federal laws by refusing to hire people age 40 and older for front-of-the-house jobs like hosts, bartenders, and servers.”
According to the settlement agreement, the chain has agreed to “pay job applicants who were wrongfully turned away because of their age between 2007 and 2014.” Additionally, it also “requires more recruitment and hiring of older job candidates and the appointment of a diversity director.” The chain also has to pay for a “decree compliance monitor to ensure the company follows through on its promises,” and is required to increase recruitment of older employees over the age of 39, which happens to be the age group they discriminated against, according to a news release from the EEOC.
EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic said in the news release:
“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act this year, it is as important as ever to recognize the very real consequences of age discrimination and the need for job opportunities for older workers.”
So what happened exactly that lead the EEOC to file a lawsuit against the steakhouse chain? Don’t they usually simply “respond to complaints filed by workers or job applicants who believe they’ve been discriminated against in some way?” Well, yes, but this particular case originated differently from the norm because the EEOC sued Texas Roadhouse on claims that the chain “denied front-of-the-house positions to workers who are 40 years and older” without actual formal complaints from employees or applicants to back them up. Because of this, some worry that this particular case will “give the EEOC more power to bring cases without complaints.”
The chain denied the accusations time and time again, though they did admit that “many of its front-of-house employees are younger.” Texas Roadhouse has yet to comment on the settlement.
Sources:
Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse chain facing lawsuit
Texas Roadhouse agrees to $12 million settlement in discrimination case
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