The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settled a class action today with Ruby Tuesday.   The EEOC had alleged that Ruby Tuesday engaged in a pattern of age discrimination against job applicants who were 40 years of age or older at six of the chain’s Pennsylvania and Ohio in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). The restaurant chain also allegedly failed to preserve employment records, including employment applications, as required by the ADEA and EEOC regulations.

“This case demonstrates the agency’s ongoing commitment to challenge discriminatory barriers to hiring,” said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez.  “Vigorous law enforcement efforts on behalf of older workers are critical to the EEOC’s mission to eradicate barriers to employment.”

In addition to the $575,000 in monetary relief, the decree resolving the lawsuit prohibits Ruby Tuesday from engaging in future age discrimination or retaliation and provides substantial non-monetary relief at the affected Ruby Tuesday locations.  Among other things, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. will:

• Implement numerical goals for hiring and recruitment of job applicants age 40 and older at the affected locations;

• Review its job advertisements to make certain they do not violate the ADEA’s prohibitions against age discrimination;

• Conduct audits, including random reviews of hiring decisions, to ensure non-discrimination and compliance with the terms of the consent decree;

• Evaluate the job performance of people with hiring authority for the six stores named in the consent decree and set their compensation (including bonuses), in part, based on their degree of success in helping Ruby Tuesday achieve its goals of ensuring that its recruitment and hiring practices provide equal employment opportunities for people who are 40 or older;

• Designate a decree compliance monitor for oversight of compliance with the requirements of the ADEA and the terms of the consent decree;

• Provide extensive training on the requirements of the ADEA and the consent decree to the decree compliance monitor, human resources personnel and hiring authorities of the six stores named in the consent decree; and

• Report to the EEOC and keep records about its hiring practices and compliance with the consent decree.

Contact Washington, D.C. Employee Rights Lawyers

If you believe that you have been a victim of employment discrimination because of your age, please contact Washington, DC employee rights lawyers at BK Law.

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