The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Ruby Tuesday Inc. on behalf of male job candidates, claiming workplace sex discrimination, according to a suit filed last Thursday in federal district court in Eugene, Ore.
The suit claims that the Maryville, Tenn.-based casual-dining operator discriminated against male employees when hiring for “coveted” temporary assignments in the resort town of Park City, Utah.
The federal agency alleged that in spring 2013, Ruby Tuesday posted an internal announcement within a nine-state region for temporary summer positions in Park City, with the company providing housing for those selected.
“However, the announcement stated that only females would be considered and Ruby Tuesday in fact selected only women for those summer jobs, supposedly from fears about housing employees of both genders together,” the EEOC said in a statement released with the lawsuit.
The EEOC suit claims that the Ruby Tuesday posting violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from giving more advantageous terms and conditions of employment to one group of individuals based on gender.
The agency said that before filing the federal district court lawsuit, it tried to reach resolution with Ruby Tuesday through a conciliation process.
Ruby Tuesday’s media contacts did not return requests for comment by press time.
William R. Tamayo, an EEOC attorney in the San Francisco region, said in a statement, “It's rare to see an explicit example of sex discrimination like Ruby Tuesday's internal job announcement. This suit is a cautionary tale to employers that sex-based employment decisions are rarely justified and are not consistent with good business judgment."
The lawsuit claims that Andrew Herrera, a Ruby Tuesday employee since 2005, in Corvallis, Ore., wanted to apply for the posted positions because of the chance to earn more money in the busy summer resort town.
“Ruby Tuesday's gender-specific internal posting excluded Herrera and at least one other male employee from consideration for the temporary assignment,” the EEOC said.
The second employee was later identified in Oregon press accounts as Joshua Bell, who worked at a Ruby Tuesday in Republic, Mo.
Nancy Sienko, an EEOC field director in the Seattle office, said, “Herrera was a longtime employee of Ruby Tuesday who had regularly trained new hires at the Corvallis restaurant. He was shocked and angered that Ruby Tuesday would categorically exclude him and other male employees from a lucrative summer assignment based purely on stereotypes about his gender.”
Sienko added that Ruby Tuesday “could have addressed any real privacy concerns by providing separate housing units for each gender in Park City, but chose an unlawful option instead.”
The EEOC is seeking unspecified monetary damages on behalf of Herrera and class members, training on anti-discrimination laws and posting of notices throughout the region, which includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.
For the second quarter ended Dec. 2, Ruby Tuesday narrowed its losses despite a dip in same-store sales comparisons, the company reported earlier this month.
Ruby Tuesday reported a loss of $9.3 million, or 15 cents per share, from $34.4 million, or 57 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 4.9 percent, to $262.7 million, from $276.2 million the prior year. The company said the revenue decrease reflected the closure of 42 restaurants over the prior year and a drop in same-store sales during the quarter. Second-quarter same-store sales declined 1 percent at company-owned restaurants, Ruby Tuesday said.
Ruby Tuesday owns and franchises 744 Ruby Tuesday restaurants in 44 states, 13 foreign countries and Guam, and 28 Lime Fresh restaurants in six states and the District of Columbia. As of Dec. 28, the company owned and operated 663 Ruby Tuesday units and 20 Lime Fresh restaurants.
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