EEOC Files Suit Against Ruby Tuesday for Sex Discrimination Against Men

Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor

January 30, 2015

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday alleging sex discrimination against male employees. The case arose from an internal job description asking for female candidates for a summer position at a Ruby Tuesday in a busy resort town, with employer-provided housing included. Regardless of the outcome in this case, an employer can use it as a reminder that discrimination laws apply to all applicants and employees, including non-minorities that are treated differently based on a protected characteristic (e.g., gender, race).

Ruby Tuesday issued an internal job opening to its employees in a 10-state radius for a temporary summer position in Park City, Utah. In addition to the expected increase in tips from the position being based at a popular vacation destination, the job also included employer-provided housing. However, the job asked for female applicants, and then hired seven females and zero males for the position. The stated rationale for this request was that, because housing was part of the job, the employer did not wish to have to provide separate housing options for men and women.

Andrew Herrera, who filed the initial EEOC claim, and Joshua Bell represent other similarly situated employees in this case. The EEOC alleges that because of the job advertisement and general preference for females for this position, employees such as Herrera and Bell were denied an opportunity to make extra money, gain valuable job experience and save money on rent through employer-provided housing because of their gender.

Gender discrimination laws protect all genders - not just females. If it is determined that Ruby Tuesday did advertise for females and used gender as a selection criterion without gender being a necessary factor to perform the job, then it may face significant liability costs. The EEOC is asking for all of the following, among others:

  • Back pay and other methods to make affected employees whole;
  • Past and future compensation for both monetary and nonmonetary losses from the unlawful practices;
  • Punitive damages; and
  • EEOC costs for bringing this action.