Black workers weren’t recalled after pandemic layoff: Hooters pays $650K

Hooters of Louisiana, LLC has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a race discrimination and retaliation suit, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) announced.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a Hooters location in Metairie subjected Black workers to a work environment that allowed offensive and demeaning remarks based on their race since at least 2017.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, the entire staff was laid off. By May of 2020, Hooters recalled some former employees, all of whom were white.

Pandemic layoff ends — or does it?

But Hooters didn’t rehire any of the Black workers – despite their qualifications and experience. Instead, the company initially “restaffed the restaurant solely with non-Black employees,” the EEOC alleged.

The Black employees, who knew their white co-workers had been recalled, made formal complaints via the company’s corporate hotline.

The employer’s actions amounted to race discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII, the EEOC said. The agency filed a lawsuit on behalf of the former employees.

To resolve the dispute, the company entered into a three-year consent decree. Under it, Hooters will pay the former employees $650,000 in back pay and damages. It must also:

• Conduct Title VII training
• Revise its policies
• Provide regular reports to the EEOC, and
• Post a notice affirming its obligations under Title VII.

Info: Hooters of Louisiana to Pay $650,000 to Resolve EEOC Race and Retaliation Lawsuit, 9/5/23.