Capital Grille Owner Hit With Employee Discrimination Suit

Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster among other dining chains, was hit with a federal employee discrimination suit last week claiming the company descriminates against minorities at their chain of Capital Grille steakhouses.

The Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC) alleges that minority workers at New York, Chicago, and D.C. Capital Grilles are given lower-paying jobs in the kitchen, whereas white workers are handed higher-paying front-of-house positions, such as a waiter or bartender.

Darden is run by a minority CEO, and was listed as one of Fortune magazine's best 100 companies to work for. ROC, a non-union organization for workers, has sued a number of restaurants, including Mario Batali's restaurants.

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