Restaurant Loses $3.2 Million California Labor Lawsuit

Los Angeles, CAA Los Angeles restaurant chain has been ordered to pay $3.2 million in a California labor lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged racial discrimination and wrongful termination. Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles is reportedly appealing the award and has since filed for bankruptcy.

According to The Los Angeles Times (3/29/16), Daniel Beasley filed the lawsuit against Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, claiming he was discriminated against by Hispanic managers at the restaurant’s Pico Blvd site. Among Beasley’s complaints were allegations that black workers were given worse schedules and shifts than Latino employees. Beasley further alleged he was fired from his job after complaining to management about the issues.

A jury agreed with Beasley’s allegations and in 2015 awarded him $1.7 million, plus $1.5 million in attorney’s fees. Since that award was handed out, the restaurant chain, which has seven locations, has filed for bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit has been filed against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, alleging the company discriminates against older job applicants by hiring mostly people under the age of 40. According to Bloomberg (5/2/16), Steve Rabin filed the lawsuit in San Francisco, alleging he was turned down for a job because he is older than 50.

Under federal law, it is illegal for companies to discriminate against job applicants based on their age. Among PricewaterhouseCoopers’s alleged actions are using a recruitment tool that can only be accessed by current college students and not posting entry-level positions on its website. The lawsuit further alleges the company has a mandatory retirement age of 60 for partners.

According to court documents, PricewaterhouseCoopers claimed in its 2011 Corporate Responsibility Summary Report that the average age of its employees was 27 and that two-thirds of employees are under the age of 35. The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, lists the average age of accountants and auditors as 43.2 and says that only 35 percent of accountants and auditors across the United States are millennials (individuals between the ages of 21 and 36).

Rabin reportedly became a certified public accountant after 15 years working in the computer industry. Despite his experience at accounting and audit firms, and as a public company controller, Rabin says he was not hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the position of seasonal experienced associate because of his age. The lawsuit also claims that the inability to be hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers has far-reaching effects because many other jobs in the field require applicants to have experience either at PricewaterhouseCoopers or one of the other four main accounting firms.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has denied the allegations in the lawsuit, saying it “hires individuals at all experience levels and across the age spectrum.”

The lawsuit is Rabin v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, case number 3:16-cv-02276, US District Court for the Northern District of California. In addition to seeking damages, the proposed class-action lawsuit seeks to end discriminatory practices.