The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently suffered a major setback in a high-profile lawsuit accusing restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse of systematically denying employment to older workers for so-called “front-of-the-house” positions, in violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
After years of devoting time and resources to bring the case — EEOC v. Texas Roadhouse, No. 1:11-cv-11732 (D. Mass.) — to trial, a Massachusetts federal jury on February 3, 2017, deadlocked on whether the EEOC’s evidence was strong enough to support a finding of unlawful age discrimination — potentially sending the agency back to the drawing board.
In short, despite the EEOC’s efforts, the agency was simply unable to convince a jury that Texas Roadhouse’s standard operating procedure was to deny employment to older workers for front-of-the-house (including host, wait staff, and bartender) positions.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.