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gender-based discrimination?

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sushilover

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California
Hi, I work at a restaurant/ bar as a bartender. It is a mid-size neighborhood restaurant/ bar, and most of the customers are locals.

The previous owner has sold the restaurant to a new owner recently, and since then the new owner has been making a lot of changes, including menu/ employees/ hours.. etc.

The other day I was told that my sales is not good, and he wants to cut down my hours. He also pointed out that since most customers are male, he wants "female" bartenders to be behind the counters, so that they attract more male customers and increase the sale volume. The new owner has been giving me a short shift that no one wants to take, weekdays during the daytime. With these hours I can not even make 1/3 of what I was making before.

Am I being discriminated based on the fact that I am male? Can my new owner justify his decision on having "female" bartenders only to increase the sale? (No I do not work at hooters.) Also, if I argue I know he is going to bring up the "your sales performance has not been better than those of females", can I ask him to show me the sales record or something to prove I do the least? I have been working at the same place for a quite a while now, and I do have pretty good regulars who come in weekly if not daily to come get drinks when I'm there.

Any advice could help. Please let me know, thank you.
 


sushilover

Junior Member
How many employees are there?
I'm not sure exactly how many, if you are including all the employees such as dishwashers or busboys. Bartender wise, there are 4, including me, with me being the only male. There are probably 20+ waiters/ waitresses and host/ hostesses as well, and the owner has been chaging their shifts too. But it seems like I am the one who is losing the hours based on his brief "female bartenders bring more money".
 

mitousmom

Member
Contact the federal EEOC, or state DFEH, and discuss filing a charge alleging sex discrimination based on his stated preference and the fact that he has assigned you to "short " and other undesirable shifts.

He doesn't have to show you his evidence that female bartenders generate more revenue, but he will have to provide it to either governmental agency if either accepts your charge for investigation.

You can find more information about EEOC and sex discrimination on EEOC's website, www.eeoc.gov, and DFEH at its website, www.dfeh.ca.gov.
 

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