The American multinational foodservice retailer, Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RT, Financial), which owns, runs and franchises Ruby Tuesday restaurants, was formed in 1996.
The first Ruby Tuesday restaurant was started in 1972 by Samuel E. (Sandy) Beall, III. Over the next decade Ruby Tuesday expanded significantly with a new outlet opening about every nine months. In April 1982, the 16-unit Ruby Tuesday was acquired by Morrison Inc. for $15 million in cash and stock. On March 9, 1996, Morrison Restaurants Inc. was dissolved on the decision taken by shareholders of Morrison's into three separate companies: and Morrison's Fresh Cooking Inc (MFC, Financial), Morrison Health Care Inc. (MHC, Financial) and Ruby Tuesday Inc.
The company also owns Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, and it holds development rights to Truffles Grill. Headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, Ruby Tuesday runs nearly 800 company-owned and franchised restaurants nationally and in 15 different countries, and has an estimated 34,000 employees.
On October 25, 2011, Ruby Tuesday released a cookbook titled Simply Fresh: Casual Dining at Home by Jeff Morgan. The cookbook has recipes, which have been inspired by the menu, and are signature to the brand.
Ruby Tuesday Inc. reported gross revenue of $1.251 billion in 2013.
Ruby Tuesday sued
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently filed a lawsuit against Ruby Tuesday Inc. in federal district court in Eugene, Ore., on behalf of male job candidates. It claimed that the company excluded male employees from consideration for in demand temporary assignments at a Utah resort.
The EEOC claim accuses Ruby Tuesday of seeking only female candidates in an internal announcement within a 10-state region for temporary bartender and server positions in Park City, Utah, with company-provided housing for those selected.
The suit is on behalf of Ruby Tuesday employees Andrew Herrera and Joshua Bell, who wanted to apply for the posted positions but could not because of their gender. The suit asserts that the internal posting violated equal opportunity employment laws from the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991.
The EEOC also alleges that Ruby Tuesday was involved in a practice of age discrimination against job applicants who were 40 years of age or above, at six of the chain's restaurants located in Altoona, West Mifflin, Greensburg, Du Bois and Indiana, Pa., and in Beachwood, Ohio, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). The chain also was unable to preserve employment records, including employment applications, as required by the ADEA and EEOC regulations.
Conclusion
The lawsuit filed against Ruby Tuesday Inc. by EEOC will cost the company $575, 000 and significant equitable relief.
The three-and-one-half-year sanction verdict resolving the lawsuit stops Ruby Tuesday from employing future age discrimination or retaliation and offers generous non-monetary assistance at the affected Ruby Tuesday sites.
Among numerous other things, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. will have to review its job advertisements, conduct audits, execute numerical goals for recruiting 40+ aged job applicants, give ample ADEA training to the concerned employees, preserve records of employment, and many more.
One understands that removing barriers in hiring and recruiting, on the grounds of age, gender and class is only appropriate. Whether these practices will help Ruby Tuesday better its image and make it a more attractive place to eat and work, or the lawsuit has already caused irreparable and non-redeemable damage, only time can tell.
