Discrimination of any kind is illegal when it comes to employment, thanks in large part to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In addition to this federal agency, there are also state and federal laws that assist in preventing such workplace discrimination. Unfortunately, just because it is illegal to discriminate does not mean that discrimination does not exist in the workplace. It does, however, ensure that individuals who face such discrimination receive justice.
The EEOC recently brought a sex discrimination lawsuit against Ruby Tuesday, Inc., claiming that two men were denied employment based on their gender. Back in the summer of 2013, the restaurant chain announced temporary summer positions that would not only offer housing at the company’s expense, but greater pay possibilities. The announcement came with a condition: only females would be considered. This was apparently because of the company-provided housing, and the company was not entirely comfortable housing different gendered employees together.
You can decide for yourself if this was valid reasoning on the part of the company, but the fact is that by only offering consideration to female employees, the Ruby Tuesday essentially admitted to discriminating against males who applied for the position. As a result, the company will now have to pay $100,000 in a settlement, as well as take measures to ensure that such gender discrimination does not happen again in the future.
This particular incident may not have occurred in California, but it is an issue that many Californians could face in any industry. For some reason or another, a company may decide to favor one gender over another or even one race over another. Whatever the reason, if a company discriminates against current or potential employees in anyway, those employees could be entitled to compensation.
Source: The National Law Review, “Ruby Tuesday to Pay $100,00 to Settle EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit,” May 23, 2015