Why Hooters is being sued? Details explored after accusations of racial discrimination emerged

On Thursday, August 24, 2023, a US government body sued a Hooters restaurant in North Carolina for racial discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit against the Hooters restaurant for discriminating against black or darker-skinned "Hooters Girls". According to the federal agency, during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the restaurant temporarily fired 43 Hooter girls.

At the time of rehiring, however, the light-skinned or white Hooters girls were called back in the majority, while only a small fraction of black or dark-skinned girls were brought back. As per the lawsuit, by mid-May 2020, 13 of them had been called to return to work, of whom 12 were white or light-skinned.

According to Business Insider, the Greensboro, North Carolina-based restaurant employees also made many "discriminatory comments" against black workers, as mentioned in the lawsuit.

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"Never called back dark skin women": The racial discrimination lawsuit against Hooters explored

According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, EEOC alleges the restaurant omitted black or dark-skinned employees during the rehiring process in May 2020. As per Business Insider, federal agency EEOC claimed,

"There was a marked shift in the racial composition of the restaurant’s Hooters Girls workforce."

The lawsuit also alleged that prior to the layoffs, 51% of the Hooters Girls were Black or had dark skin. However, after May 2020, that ratio dropped to 8%. After the 43 employees who got fired were told that the layoffs were temporary, only 13 of them were called back by mid-May 2020, of whom 12 were white or light-skinned.

According to Fox Business, Melinda Dugas, who is the regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte, N.C., office, gave a statement about the recall, saying,

"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."

Dugas added,

"Federal law protects employees from race-based decision making in the terms of employment, including in layoff, recall and hiring decisions."

The EEOC claimed that the rehiring procedure was illegal and that the girls were chosen based on their race and color. According to CNN, the lawsuit says the violations committed were "willful and intentional and were committed with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally protected rights" of the dark-skinned employees.

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Other allegations against the Hooters restaurant in North Carolina

The EEOC lawsuit also alleged that the dark-skinned employees often "experienced racial hostility and observed preferential treatment of White employees while employed at the restaurant." Additionally, Black servers were given less flexible shift schedules than their White counterparts.

The racially charged "discriminatory comments" made by the managers prior to the pandemic layoffs included,

"Expressions of preference for white and light skin-toned servers, suggestions that light skin-toned servers were more presentable, and jokes about the appearance and hairstyles of Black and dark skin-toned servers," as per the lawsuit.

The demands made by the EEOC include the restaurant giving equal employment opportunities to workers without racial discrimination. As per CNN, the lawsuit states the North Carolina restaurant chain should provide back pay to the Black or dark-skinned girls who were overlooked because of race or color.

According to the lawsuit, the restaurant should also possibly rehire the workers if necessary, as per Business Insider.

The Greensboro restaurant has not released any statements about the lawsuit or addressed the racial allegations against them yet.