A Corpus Christi man is suing Hooters, accusing the restaurant chain of gender discrimination for not hiring him as a food server in a filing that attempts to reopen an issue that was settled 11 years ago.
Nikolai Grushevski’s suit acknowledges the earlier agreement, which established that the chain’s signature Hooters Girls would continue to be the restaurants’ only food servers and established gender neutral jobs. But the suit challenges the policy, saying it still is discriminatory, and invites other men to seek a class action suit.
He asserts in the suit that when he applied to be a waiter at the local restaurant in May he was not hired because of his gender. The suit says that even though food servers are referred to exclusively as “Hooters Girls,” the job should not be limited only to women.
“Just as Southwest Airlines attempted nearly three decades ago with stewardesses, the waiter’s position addressed herein is being limited to females by an employer…” the suit states.
Grushevski says in the suit he isn’t trying to prevent the company from employing Hooters Girls but wants to ensure that men also have the opportunity to work as wait staff.
In 1997, Hooters agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a group of men. That class-action settlement allowed the chain to continue to have only Hooters Girls serve food and beverages.
Hooters also agreed to create gender-neutral positions such as bartender, host and kitchen staff.
Grushevski’s suit, filed Thursday in federal court, seeks an unspecified amount of money including for emotional and punitive damages. It also asks the court to grant an injunction to stop Hooters from “discriminating against male applicants for the waiters position.”
An e-mail seeking comment from Hooters officials was not immediately returned.
Attempts to reach Grushevski were unsuccessful.
Houston-based attorney Martin A. Shellist, who represents Grushevski, said he wanted to make it clear his client didn’t sue to become a Hooters Girl.
“My client wants to be a waiter. He does not want to be a Hooters Girl,” Shellist said. “He wants to serve food and earn tips, and why can’t he?”
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A Texas man has reportedly settled a class action lawsuit against Hooters for refusing to hire men as food servers.
Nikolai Grushevski filed a complaint against Hooters of America in January alleging its Corpus Christi franchisee would not hire him as a waiter because the position was being limited to females by an employer “who merely wishes to exploit female sexuality as a marketing tool to attract customers and insure profitability.”
Hooters argued a “bona-fide occupational qualification” defense, which applies when the “essence of the business operation would be undermined if the business eliminated its discriminatory policy,” according to Onpointnews.com.
“If we lose this go around, you can next expect hairy-legged guys in the Rockettes to line up and male models in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.” Hooters’ vice president of marketing said, according to Onpointnews.com.
But the website reported that court records show that Grushevski and Hooters reached a confidential settlement on April 13.
Grushevski was suing on behalf of “all males across the country who applied for the position of waiter at a Hooters restaurant and were denied,” and suggested all Hooters franchisees be certified as defendants, Onpointnews.com reported. The settlement however applies only to the Corpus Christi franchisee.