Ruby Tuesday settles male servers' gender bias case

Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday Inc. has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for allegedly refusing to hire two male servers, purportedly because of potential problems arranging dorm space for them in a resort town, the agency said.

The Maryville, Tennesse-based chain denied two male employees the opportunity to work as servers at the resort town of Park City, Utah, in the summer of 2013, the agency said Thursday in a statement.

It had posted an internal announcement within a nine-state region for temporary summer positions with company-provided housing and the chance for greater earnings, the agency said. However, the announcement said only females would be considered, purportedly because of concerns about housing employees of both genders.

The company was charged with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In addition to paying the two male employees the $100,000, the company agreed to provide training to prevent future sex discrimination, the agency said.

“Ruby Tuesday will take affirmative steps to make sure its managers do not make gender-based employment decisions again, even if it only involves temporary summer assignments,” EEOC San Francisco regional attorney William R. Tamayo said in the statement. “All managers and employees should know that making personnel decisions based on an employee's sex is rarely permitted under federal law.”

The company said in a statement, “Ruby Tuesday prides itself on being a great place to work. Being a great place to work includes treating all our team members with equal respect and dignity.

“We take seriously allegations that any team member is disadvantaged, and we are pleased to have resolved this matter by restating the company's longstanding commitment to its team members.”

In 2013, the company agreed to pay $575,000 to settle an EEOC class action age discrimination lawsuit.