Restaurant Chain Forced To Pay $3 Million After Refusing To Hire ‘Old White Guys’

The national restaurant chain Seasons 52 is in hot water this week after it was revealed that they only wanted “fresh” employees and rejected “old white guys.”

Fox News reported that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the restaurant chain has settled an age discrimination class action lawsuit to the tune of nearly $3 million.

Based in Orange Park, Florida, Seasons 52 is a member of the Darden family of restaurants, which include Olive Garden, Yard House, and LongHorn Steakhouse. The restaurant was accused of disproportionally rejecting applicants who were white and over 40 from both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house positions.

This allegedly occurred at 35 restaurants all over the U.S., and the lawsuit included 254 plaintiffs. A total of 135 applicants testified under oath that Seasons 52 managers made comments like “Seasons 52 girls are younger and fresh,” “Most of the workers are younger,” and “Seasons 52 hires young people.” One manager even told the EEOC that “old white guys” are not employable at the company.

The settlement involves compensating the white applicants over 40 who were rejected and having Seasons 52 change their hiring practices.

“We are pleased to resolve this EEOC matter,” Darden spokesman Hunter Robinson said in a statement. “Putting this behind us is good for Seasons 52, good for our team members and good for our shareholders.”

“Although ageism is among the most common forms of employment discrimination, applicants who are turned down rarely know the reason why” EEOC Trial Attorney Kristen Foslid said in a statement. “When an employer has a trend of rejecting older applicants, the EEOC will respond aggressively to combat age stereotypes.”

This is a sad example of how white men are treated in this country every day. The media tries to victimize minorities every chance they get, but it really is older white men who far too often end up being discriminated against more than anybody else. Older white men feel like an afterthought in America these days, as nobody seems to be out to protect them and their rights. We’re glad to see that Seasons 52 is not being permitted to get away with discriminating against them!

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