Pizza Hut To Pay $160,000 In Racial Discrimination Settlement

Jet, Sept 13, 1999

Pizza Hut Inc. has agreed to pay at least $160,000 to 20 plaintiffs, as well as possible legal fees, as part of a settlement of a racial discrimination lawsuit, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The suit was filed by a Black family, Jacqueline and Curtis Randle El, who claimed a Midlothian, IL, restaurant would not allow them to celebrate their son's 10th birthday when they went there in June 1996.

A settlement was reached in May and was to have remained confidential, but the Tribune recently obtained a copy of the 14-page document that was attached to a court filing made by the plaintiffs last week.

"We're going to uphold our end of the bargain and not discuss it," said Pizza Hut's director of public relations Jay Allison. The attorney for the plaintiffs, Fay Clayton, declined to comment on the settlement.

According to the court papers, Pizza Hut admitted no wrongdoing or liability, but has agreed to conduct sensitivity training for five years for employees who deal with the public. It also agreed to pay $160,000 to the 20 plaintiffs, in addition to any legal fees.

The Dallas-based company is owned by Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. and employs approximately 100,000 workers in 7,100 company-owned and franchise stores.

The discrimination suit was filed by the Els, who alleged that the Midlothian restaurant turned them away when they arrived for their son's birthday party even though they previously phoned in their order before their arrival.

Parents of the other children invited to the party joined in the lawsuit.

The restaurant manager contended he closed early that night because one waitress left work sick and supplies ran out.

But in rejecting Pizza Hut's earlier attempt to dismiss the suit, U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning noted that the restaurant remained open for three hours after the waitress left, and cash register receipts showed that 35 pizzas were delivered after the family was refused service.

Earlier this year, Pizza Hut settled another racial lawsuit filed by a Black family who said they were harassed and taunted with racial slurs by White employees at a restaurant in Godfrey, IL (JET, Jan. 18).