Posted on 09/13/2005 7:03:01 AM PDT by Cagey
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hardee's has agreed to pay $34,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that one of its restaurants repeatedly refused to hire an applicant because her face was disfigured.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the St. Louis-based fast-food chain, which is owned by CKE Restaurants Inc., submitted the proposed agreement Monday to U.S. District Court in Kansas City. Besides the money, the settlement also calls for the chain to apologize in writing and further train its managers and human resources employees.
The EEOC said the suit, also filed Monday, alleged that the job seeker applied more than once for entry-level work at the Hardee's in Oak Grove, near Independence, but was never hired. The suit said others with no better qualifications were given jobs while the applicant was not. The woman has Treacher Collins Syndrome, a birth defect that caused a malformed cranial bone structure, asymmetrical eye placement and the absence of ears.
CKE, based in Carpinteria, Calif., did not return calls for comment.
Since the amount is small, they may merely have decided it was cheaper to pay her off.
She was only as "well qualified" as the others if you assume that scaring away customers, or making them less likely to buy food, or as much food, has nothing to do with qualifications.
It may have been illegal to take that into account, and it may have been a wrong assumption that her appearance would effect sales. But certainly there are characteristics people have which would make them unqualified, or less qualified, to serve as a company's "face" to the customer.
"We found that Hardee's wouldn't hire this applicant because she looked different, not because she couldn't do the work," said Robert Johnson, regional attorney for the EEOC's St. Louis office. "Such conduct hurts us all. But we commend Hardee's for doing the right thing in settling this case and agreeing to appropriate training and any needed accommodations."
Multiple piercings seem to be part of the uniform for K-mart staff.
I think that the ability to fill out an application is sufficient qualification to be a whopper-flopper. We're not talking brain surgery here.
Is this a relative of yours?
If I went to get an ear pierced and someone missed my ear and got my lip or eyebrow, I'd do my best to beat their lip or eyebrow OFF.
She would make some customers nervous and many would not return. Looks is a legitimate criterion for hiring folks who deal directly with the public. I say this as one who does not have a pretty face and who has been turned down on looks.
Oh that was mean. Funny, but mean.
Nope. It just means that people with certain "physical attributes" can bilk whichever company they choose. Probably learned it from Jessie Jackson and his shake-down operation.
I would imagine she had a hard time getting hired anywhere. People can't get past appearances sometimes.
Fast food worker is a low skill job so maybe that's all she could go for.
While her looks may be shocking to some, a simple explanation of birth defect would educate alot of folks and generate some understanding for people who don't look like everyone else.
"Just punch the numbers into your machine and you'll understand".
LOL!!! you would too if they count out five ones back to you!
Crack babies and cash registers don't mix.
No...I just typed "Treacher Collins Syndrome" into a Google image search, and her picture came up. From her website, she's a medical student...very capable, just somewhat funny-looking. Nothing wrong with that.
One could certainly speculate about that. It may have been the case in our gutless society.
It doesn't however, change the facts.
Right! I don't know whether to laugh or cry when something like that happens. Some of those folks at the register are totally, utterly lost when you do that.
'Jane doesn't have any ears and one of her eyes is on the side of her head. Susan is an unaffected symmetrical-American applicant. Both of them are appropriately dressed...'
'...that's correct Ron, the very fact that you noticed her deformity in the first place demonstrates the need for further expensive classes.'
Probably learned it from Jessie Jackson and his shake-down operation.
Yeah, ole Porkchop Jackson doesn't have much going for him in the looks department.
If she is otherwise qualified to work there, then yes, it is discrimination not to hire her just because of her looks.
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