Twin Peaks Restaurant Sued for Female Only Hiring Policy

Twin Peaks Restaurant Group in Florida, a Hooters equivalent with a mountain-lodge theme, is being sued by a job applicant for gender discrimination. The job applicant, Ortiz, was denied employment as a server because he was a man. Twin Peaks exclusively offers server positions for women, and include in their job posting that men need not apply. While other positions open at the Restaurant accept both male and female applicants, Ortiz applied for the server position strictly reserved for women who fit the restaurant’s “Peak Girl” qualifications, which the lawsuit alleges is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. According to the lawsuit, Ortiz filled out an employment application and upon completion asked to speak to the manager. The manager advised Ortiz that although they were currently hiring servers, the positions are reserved strictly for females and that Ortiz did not qualify for the job because he was a male. Attorneys for Ortiz state in the lawsuit that Ortiz is not attempting to deprive Twin Peaks from employing “Twin Peaks Girls”, but ensuring that males and females have the same opportunity to serve food and earn income therefrom. The attorneys for Ortiz further argue that even though the restaurant titles servers “Twin Peak Girls”, a male or a female can perform the function of serving food and drink, therefore they cannot claim there is a bona-fide occupational qualification. Attorneys for Ortiz are seeking to recover compensatory damages, emotional damages, punitive damages, back pay, front pay, reinstatement, and attorney’s fees.