Darden will pay $2.85M to settle age-bias suit

Money will go to alleged victims of Seasons 52 discrimination

Orlando-based Darden Restaurants will pay $2.85 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that job candidates were told the company’s Seasons 52 restaurants do not hire “old white guys.”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday it had settled the 3-year-old lawsuit and the money will go to those that may have been discriminated against when looking for jobs at Seasons 52.

Seasons 52, which has 41 locations, admits no liability and continues to deny the allegations but will be required to hold new training for all hiring managers regarding “age-neutral and non-discriminatory recruiting, interviewing, and hiring; and how to avoid stereotypes in hiring and in the workplace, including ageism and age stereotypes,’’ the settlement says.

Alleged victims of the discrimination will also be invited to reapply for employment. The restaurant chain also has agreed to have its hiring practices monitored for three years by an independent attorney from the Jones Day law firm, Fred W. Alvarez.

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

One lawyer watching the case said it was a significant victory for the EEOC and anti-age discrimination laws.

“It’s quite a massive amount of money,” said David Miklas, a Fort Pierce labor and employment lawyer. “It was a wide-ranging problem and didn’t involve just one or two rogue hiring managers. There are some smoking gun statements that would arguably be presented as direct evidence of age discrimination.”

In the case filed in February 2015, the EEOC said managers at Darden’s Seasons 52 chain tried to portray a young and hip image by hiring younger servers and hosts.

The EEOC’s initial complaint in the lawsuit alleged that Seasons 52 wouldn't hire two men, Anthony Scornavacca, then 52, and Hugo Alfaro, then 42, because of their age. The EEOC said it contacted thousands of people over 40 who applied for jobs at Seasons 52. The agency at one point last year said it found 254 people who claimed they were treated with bias.

“Often, discrimination cases are hard to prove,” said David Seltzer, an attorney on the case with the EEOC’s Miami district office. “But here, Seasons 52 interviews across locations repeatedly told applicants things like ‘We don’t hire people over 40,’ ‘Seasons 52 girls are younger and fresh’ or asked them for their date of birth, high school graduation date or a driver’s license.”

The EEOC alleged that one manager bluntly said Seasons 52 didn’t employ “old white guys.’’

Lawyers for Darden argued the incidents were isolated and there wasn’t proof of a top-down effort to exclude older workers.

The EEOC also commissioned a statistical report from a University of California, Irvine professor that said Seasons 52 had not hired enough older employees.

“In Florida, we’ve seen over the years numerous situations where there’s a preference for younger workers over older workers, whether it’s just for show, or they don’t think older people can do the work because they don’t think they can keep up,” said Robert Weisberg, an attorney in the EEOC’s Miami office. “It’s a pervasive problem in many industries and particularly pervasive in hospitality.”

Darden, Orlando’s only Fortune 500 company, also is the owner of restaurant brands Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among others. The settlement only covers Seasons 52. In all, Darden has 1,700 restaurants and 175,000 employees.

The settlement will go to the 254 people identified as part of the lawsuit, as well as additional people expected to come forward, EEOC attorneys said.

The agency will be contacting people and putting out a call for Seasons 52 applicants that may have been affected. Awards will be based on the circumstances of each individual’s case.