(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A former Hooters waitress sued the restaurant last week for allegedly discriminating against “dark skin-toned servers” in favor of white and light skin-toned servers.
According to plaintiff Taria Daughtridge, she was working at a Hooters in North Carolina until the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Daughtridge, who is a dark-skinned black woman, said she experienced racial discrimination at the workplace—”including but not limited to expressions of preference for White and light skin-toned servers, suggestions that light skin-toned servers were more presentable, and jokes about the appearance and hairstyles of Black and dark skin-toned servers.”
Daughtridge said that in March 2020, she and about 43 other “Hooters Girls” were laid off following government lockdown orders.
Hooters began recalling girls to work a couple months later. By mid-May, 13 of the 43 girls were back at the North Carolina restaurant.
According to the lawsuit, 92% of the Hooters girls recalled were white “and/or had light skin tone,” suggesting only one of the 13 had a darker skin tone.
“Before the March 2020 layoffs, approximately 51% of the Hooters Girls at the Greensboro Restaurant were Black and/or had dark skin tone,” the lawsuit said.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the complaint on behalf of Daughtridge, and seeks to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit. Plaintiffs seek damages, backpay and other compensation.
Twitter user @Indian-Bronson noted that this case was the latest in a long line of discrimination lawsuits against Hooters, which advertises itself as having beautiful and buxom servers.
In the late 1990s, for instance, Hooters settled a lawsuit against a man who had alleged gender discrimination.
"WHAT KINDA' HOOTERS CAN WORK AT HOOTERS?"
This particular lawsuit is interesting.
I hope @Hooters wins it.Why?
Let's go on a fun journey to explore American Civil Rights law and intersectionality, with some helpful visual aids. https://t.co/CI0QXOYUuM pic.twitter.com/mJyyCDZm95
— ib (@Indian_Bronson) August 25, 2023
This latest lawsuit is novel because it alleges distrimination not based solely on race, but also on skin pigmentation, @Indian-Bronson said.
“I think this all has the potential to take us to an insane and unworkable place as a country, and that Hooters prevails in this lawsuit, strengthening employers’ Bona Fide Occupational exemptions in hiring, on all kinds of traits, for all kinds of industries,” the Twitter user said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
