CNN – The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a North Carolina Hooters restaurant for allegedly discriminating against Black or darker-skinned “Hooters Girls,” the federal agency announced Thursday.
In March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Greensboro, North Carolina, Hooters temporarily laid off around 43 employees, dubbed “Hooters Girls” by the restaurant chain.
The EEOC said in a lawsuit that the restaurant laid off a class of Black and dark-skinned women and recalled mostly white or light-skinned employees by May 2020.
There was a “marked shift in the racial composition of the restaurant’s Hooters Girls workforce,” when employees were called back in, according to the EEOC release.
The lawsuit said prior to layoffs, 51% of the Hooters Girls were Black or had dark skin; after May 2020, the percentage plummeted to 8%. The restaurant recalled 13 Hooters Girls, of whom 12 were white or light-skinned, the EEOC said.
The complaint also alleged that the darker-skinned Hooters Girls “experienced racial hostility and observed preferential treatment of White employees while employed at the restaurant” and received less-lucrative shifts.
“Managers suggested light skin-toned Hooters Girls ‘were more presentable’ and made jokes about the Black and dark-skinned employees’ appearance and hairstyles, the lawsuit alleged.”
