Employment Discrimination in the Restaurant Industry

Abstract

An analysis of a database compiled by the authors from claims recorded by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found that three causes of action accounted for most employment-discrimination claims against restaurants in that state. Those causes are (in decreasing order of frequency) race, sex, and retaliation. When the restaurants are analyzed according to type, however, the frequency of claims changes. One particular change of note is the rise of retaliation claims, which overwhelmingly follow complaints based on other causes. This cause of action merits attention from restaurant operators because a retaliation claim can continue even if the original complaint fails or is dropped.