Chicago Restaurant Group Sued For Discrimination

The Rosebud Restaurant Group has run afoul of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which has filed a racial discrimination suit against the popular Chicago restaurant company for allegedly discriminating against black job applicants.

According to the EEOC, Rosebud Restaurants, which owns 10 restaurants in the Chicago area, is in violation of the Civil Rights Act for failing to hire black job applicants based on racial prejudice. The EEOC maintains that the group's approximately 900 employees include very few black people, and that Alex Dana, the founder and owner of Rosebud, "has expressed a preference not to hire black job applicants" and has been observed using racial slurs.

According to Grub Street, the investigation began after a job applicant complained to the EEOC after being turned down, allegedly based on race. The EEOC investigated and found that Rosebud employs "few if any" black employees, and several of the company's restaurants have no black employees at all. The EEOC maintains that it tried to reach an agreement with Rosebud for eight months and has now filed suit seeking back pay for workers and a permanent injunction against future hiring discrimination.

Rosebud denies all charges and maintains that it has not engaged in any discriminatory practices.

"We consider it our mission to treat our employees as family – with honesty and respect – and we are proud of our employment record and the diversity of our workforce," the company said in a statement.