Ruby Tuesday Sued For Gender Discrimination Against Men

It's not every day that you see a gender discrimination lawsuit against men. But last week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Ruby Tuesday for gender discrimination against potential male bartenders and servers, because a summer 2013 summer job listing, complete with free housing in the resort town Park City, Utah, explicitly stated that the company was looking for female applicants only. The lawsuit claims that the internal job posting, which was distributed to stores in the surrounding nine-state region, violated equal opportunity employment laws from Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991.

Although many men did apply for the job, seven women were hired instead. According to the Oregonian, Ruby Tuesday wanted to avoid having to find separate housing for men and women. The lawsuit, backed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accuses the restaurant chain of denying the men who applied and others the chance to earn more money, gain valuable experience, and take advantage of free housing during the summer assignment.

"It's rare to see an explicit example of sex discrimination like Ruby Tuesday's internal job announcement," San Francisco Regional Attorney William R. Tamayo said in a statement on the EEOC website. "This suit is a cautionary tale to employers that sex-based employment decisions are rarely justified, and are not consistent with good business judgment."

Lawyers for the commission said that they contacted Ruby Tuesday to facilitate meetings to work out this misunderstanding, but did not receive a response. The Daily Meal has contacted Ruby Tuesday but the company did not respond in time for publication.