August 13th, 2007

"Hispanic, Asian Workers Were Routinely Passed Over for Promotions"

Daniel Boulud, a native of France who is considered one of the finest chefs in the United States, has settled the employment discrimination lawsuit brought by eight employees in one of his New York restaurants. The suit charged that Asian and Hispanic employees were routinely passed over for promotions in favor of newly hired white French employees.

EEOC Claim Is Successful

The Hispanic and Bangladeshi restaurant runners and bus boys have duties that include bringing bread to the patrons' tables and clearing away dishes after meals at Boulud's flagship restaurant, Daniel. They filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging that they were denied the opportunities to move into higher-paying positions such as assistant captain, captain, and lounge server.

Segregation of Restaurant Workers

Tushar Jasvant Sheth, an attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense organization, was a member of the workers' legal team. He said that the recent agreement with Boulud may help end the long-standing and pervasive discrimination in the restaurant industry. He noted, "There is almost complete segregation in high-end dining between people who can work as waiters and people who are bus boys and runners."

A Yearlong Struggle

Protests were held outside Daniel for nearly one year while the discrimination claim was in process. The protests were organized by Restaurant Opportunity Center of New York, an advocacy group for restaurant workers. The group's coordinator, Rekha Eanni, said that the issues handled in this claim were very similar to those at other high-end restaurants: "Workers come to us all the time saying they are being passed over for promotions because they don't have a sophisticated French accent or whatever the restaurant is looking for."

Salary Increase, Monetary Damages

Under the settlement agreement, the bus boys and runners at Daniel will get 8 percent raises, and $80,000 in damages will be paid to the eight workers who filed the claim. In addition, the restaurant agreed to adopt a policy ensuring that national origin and race will not be factors used in promotions, and they'll train the restaurant managers regarding employment law.

Enforcement of the agreement will be handled by the EEOC. The restaurant released a statement saying that it is "very pleased to have this matter resolved and to avoid the time and expense associated with mounting a defense."

(Source: Newsday online)

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