Male Employees File Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against Ruby Tuesday

Late last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit in Eugene, Oregon against restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday. The lawsuit accuses the Tennessee-based company of discriminating against its male employees by hiring only women for summer bartender positions at its Park City, Utah outpost.

The Oregonian reports:

The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would prevent Ruby Tuesday from depriving men of employment opportunities based on their sex; an order forcing the company to eradicate its wrongful employment practices; and to pay losses suffered by two male workers denied jobs in the summer of 2013.

Ruby Tuesday advertised temporary positions at the Park City restaurant that summer, but the chain showed explicit and exclusive preference for female applicants, and did not hire men based on their gender, the EEOC alleges.

John Stanley, trial attorney for the EEOC in Seattle said “It’s an unusual lawsuit.” He told the newspaper that at his 27 years with the federal agency, he could not remember a EEOC case where a company gave preference to women.

The EEOC is accusing Ruby Tuesday’s of violating the Civil Rights Act by, “denying…men and others the chance to earn more money, gain valuable experience, and take advantage of free housing during the summer assignment.”