METAIRIE, La. — Hooters of Louisiana will pay a group of Black workers at a Metairie restaurant $650,000, after a lawsuit accused the shop of racist comments and discriminatory hiring practices, according to the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission.
"Hooters subjected African American employees at a Metairie-located Hooters restaurant to a workplace environment of offensive and demeaning remarks based on their race since at least 2017," The EEOC said on Tuesday.
Among the complaints, the restaurant was also accused of laying off staff at the start of the pandemic, and then only hiring back non-Black employees once it reopened.
"Hooters will pay the former employees $650,000 in backpay and damages," The EEOC said in a statement Tuesday. "And also conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC, and post a notice affirming its obligations under Title VII."
The EEOC said they felt good about the conclusion.
"We are pleased the EEOC and Hooters were able to quickly reach a resolution that is in the interests of justice," EEOC said.
Management at the Hooters restaurant on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie said they had no comment on the incident.
