Buffalo Wild Wings to Pay $47,500 in EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

ATLANTA – BWW Resources, LLC, which owns and operates Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, agreed to pay $47,500 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s suit said that a server candidate, who wore long skirts in public because of her sincerely held religious beliefs, asked the general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings’ Douglasville, Georgia location about a job opening. The general manager confirmed the restaurant was hiring, but then mocked the candidate’s religious beliefs.

After the candidate applied for a server position, the restaurant failed to interview her or otherwise contact her regarding the open position. Shortly after, an assistant manager said the restaurant would not hire the applicant because it was unusual for servers to wear long skirts in a sports bar. The location did not hire the applicant and hired five servers within two months of her application, according to the EEOC’s suit.

“Title VII prohibits employers from refusing to hire a job candidate to avoid accommodating a religious practice, absent undue hardship,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “The EEOC is pleased that BWW Resources has agreed to take steps to ensure that Title VII violations do not occur in the future.”

The restaurant’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 4:23-CV-00167-CDL) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process.

The two-year consent decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit requires BWW Resources to provide monetary relief to the applicant; provide specialized training to the managers, supervisors and human resources personnel for the Douglasville location; and post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and of their rights against discrimination. Furthermore, the company will provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding requests for religious accommodations from future job applicants, as well as employee complaints of religious discrimination or retaliation.

Darrell Graham, district director of the EEOC Atlanta District Office, said, “Job applicants have the right to pursue employment without fear of compromising their religious practices, so long as those practices do not cause an undue hardship on prospective employers. The EEOC remains committed to protecting and enforcing that right.”

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

The Atlanta District Office has jurisdiction over the Georgia and the South Carolina Counties of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper, and Williamsburg.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.