A Hooters restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina, discriminated against a group of “Hooters Girls” on the basis of race and color when it failed to rehire them in the months following a COVID-19 pandemic-induced layoff, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in federal court Thursday.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, EEOC said it received a discrimination charge from one of the employees, who alleged Hooters laid off her and 42 other Hooters Girls in late March 2020 due to the pandemic.
By May, the restaurant — which is operated by Hooters of America, LLC — recalled 13 employees, 12 of whom were White or who had a light skin tone and one of whom was Black and had a dark skin tone, EEOC claimed.
Per the suit, that meant only 8% of recalled employees fell in the latter group, even though approximately 51% of Hooters Girls at the Greensboro restaurant prior to the layoffs were Black or had a dark skin tone.
The restaurant’s practices violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, EEOC alleged, including failure to recall or rehire on the basis of race and color. In a press release announcing the suit, the agency said it seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief against Hooters.
“When recalling employees from a layoff, it is critical that employers examine their selection criteria to ensure they are objectively verifiable and free from racial bias,” Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney at EEOC, said in the release. “Federal law protects employees from race-based decision making in the terms of employment, including in layoff, recall and hiring decisions.”
Hooters did not respond to an HR Dive request for comment.
