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LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW — 12/30/09

Outback Steakhouse, EEOC settle "glass ceiling" suit for $19 million

Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $19 million and furnish significant remedial relief to settle a class lawsuit alleging sex discrimination against thousands of women at hundreds of its corporately-owned restaurants nationwide, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced December 29, 2009. Outback discriminated against its female employees with respect to their terms and conditions of employment, and denied women equal opportunities for advancement, according to the agency.

Glass ceiling. Female employees hit a glass ceiling at Outback and could not get promoted to the higher-level profit-sharing management positions in the restaurants, the federal agency alleged in a lawsuit it filed under Title VII (EEOC v Outback Steakhouse of Fla, Inc, DColo, No 06-cv-01935). Moreover, women were denied favorable job assignments, particularly kitchen management experience, which was required for employees to be considered for the top management job in the restaurants, the EEOC said.

“There are still too many glass ceilings left to shatter in workplaces throughout corporate America,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “The EEOC will continue to bring class lawsuits like this one against employers who engage in gender discrimination on a systemic scale. Hopefully this major settlement will remind employers about the perils of perpetuating promotion practices that keep women from advancing at work.”

Consent decree. The settlement is the largest in history of the Phoenix district office, reported the agency. The case was filed and litigated by the agency's Denver office. In addition to the monetary relief, the settlement, contained in a four-year consent decree signed by Judge Christine M. Arguello, requires that Outback:

“We are pleased with the initiatives that Outback has agreed to in this settlement and look forward to seeing its efforts to promote women into management positions realized,” EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O'Neill of the Phoenix district, which has jurisdiction for Colorado. “Ensuring that all of the talent in a workforce is fully utilized simply makes good business sense.”

“The EEOC brokered this far reaching and comprehensive settlement in the public interest to foster a discrimination-free workplace at Outback,” added Rita Byrnes Kittle, Senior Trial Attorney in the agency's Denver field office. “We are particularly pleased about Outback's commitment to a new process for employees to apply for promotion online and for hiring managers to make their selections from the online applications. We think this new process will help give women a fair opportunity to advance in the company.”

Claims administration. The $19 million in monetary relief contained in the settlement will be administered through a claims process in which an administrator will send letters to all female workers employed at corporately-owned Outback restaurants from 2002 to the present who have at least three years of tenure.

“We encourage women who believe they were discriminated against by Outback to come forward and complete the claims form to obtain monetary relief," said EEOC Denver Trial Attorney Stephanie Struble. "We also encourage all current female employees at Outback to take advantage of the new application process and let Outback know that they are interested in promotion.”

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.

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