Hispanic man files civil lawsuit against Findlay Texas Roadhouse
Jul. 30—FINDLAY — A Hispanic man claims management at Findlay's Texas Roadhouse discriminated against him for his race, preventing him from working beyond kitchen staff, leading to a demotion, and terminating him for calling off work for a family emergency.
Juan Torres, 34, of Findlay, filed a civil lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Toledo against Texas Roadhouse Management Corp., of Louisville, Ky., for racial discrimination and retaliation during his employment from December, 2009, through October, 2020, when he was terminated. Mr. Torres claims as a Hispanic man, he was treated differently by management compared to similarly situated white employees.
He alleges he was denied employment opportunities with better pay and benefits because of his race. Mr. Torres asks for compensatory, monetary, and punitive damages in an amount in excess of $25,000.
"We feel very strongly about our case and the facts as asserted in our complaint," Mr. Torres' attorney, Brian Spitz, told The Blade. "No employee should have to go through this."
A message was left Friday with the restaurant's corporate spokesman and not returned. There was no answer at the restaurant.
Mr. Torres started working as a prep cook in 2009. Throughout his employment, he claims, "Texas Roadhouse would only staff Hispanic employees in the kitchen," which is "less desirable than other positions," because cooks are not able to collect tips, according to the lawsuit.
In 2014, Mr. Torres was promoted to key hourly manager, but he and other Hispanic employees were still only staffed in the kitchen, he claims. Mr. Torres said he had minimal staff to help close the restaurant while white employees were "always provided extra assistance so that they could close the Findlay restaurant on time," the lawsuit states.
Mr. Torres frequently stayed beyond his shift to properly close the restaurant. He reported this disparate treatment to a white supervisor, but it went ignored, Mr. Torres claims.
On May 19, 2020, Mr. Torres and a Hispanic co-worker were conducting inventory when a container of cooking oil spilled. Mr. Torres attempted to clean it up by using a hose connected to a sink. A supervisor saw Mr. Torres cleaning up the spill and made no correction action, the lawsuit says.
A day later, Jennifer Weston, a white Texas Roadhouse managing partner, told Mr. Torres "he should not have used her '$2,000 hose to clean the floor,' because the hose is for dishes," according to the complaint.
In response, Ms. Weston allegedly removed Mr. Torres from a group chat of the restaurant managers and demoted him to a point cook, a less-paying position than a key hourly manager. Similarly situated white employees were not reprimanded the same, he claims.
On Oct. 8, 2020, Mr. Torres asked Ms. Weston to temporarily take him off of the schedule due to a family emergency in Texas.
"Weston berated Torres for needing to take time off to deal with a family emergency," the lawsuit says.
On Oct. 21, 2020, Mr. Torres contacted the restaurant to inform management that he returned to Ohio. Ms. Weston demanded that Mr. Torres return to work immediately, according to the lawsuit.
After traveling back to Ohio that day, Mr. Torres was unable to work and indicated he would try to find someone else to cover his shift, if necessary.
The next day, Mr. Torres was terminated through a telephone call, despite no progressive discipline being issued, the lawsuit says.
"[Texas Roadhouse] did not terminate the employment of similarly situated Caucasian employees who took time off of work for longer than Torres and then returned to work without issue," according to the allegations, which claim Mr. Torres was fired because of his race.
The case has been assigned to Judge James Knepp II.
