Management thought customers would not want to see pregnant servers
PHOENIX (AP) - A Peoria restaurant and bar must pay $15,000 to a former waitress who was moved from Sunday shifts because its management thought men watching football games would not want to see pregnant servers.
The settlement announced by the U.S. Equal Employment OpportunityCommission on Wednesday also requires the Sandbar Mexican Grill and its owners to post notices saying employment discrimination based on race, sex or pregnancy is against federal law and to hold anti-discrimination training for its workers.
The EEOC filed suit in September 2011 on behalf of waitress Keli Kozup after she complained she was pulled from lucrative Sunday shifts because she was pregnant.
Sandbar owner Evening Entertainment Group, LLC, didn't admit wrongdoing in the settlement.
“We absolutely reject any assertions of wrongdoing. As business leaders for the past 37 years, we have responsibly employed over 10,000 people and, for the record, have never received a single claim to the contrary. We have settled this matter only to stem the financially draining attacks lobbed by the EEOC, which seemingly has unlimited amounts of taxpayer money to fight small business. We look forward to continuing to provide rewarding jobs for the people of this great city,” a spokesperson for Evening Entertainment Group said.
