Outback Settles 'Glass Ceiling' Lawsuit

December 30, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $19 million to settle a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination against thousands of women at hundreds of its corporately-owned restaurants nationwide.

According to an announcement by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Outback discriminated against its female employees with respect to the terms and conditions of employment, and denied women equal opportunities for advancement. The EEOC alleged in the lawsuit that female employees hit a glass ceiling at Outback and could not get promoted to the higher-level profit-sharing management positions in the restaurants.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

In addition, the EEOC alleged that women were denied favorable job assignments, particularly kitchen management experience, which was required for employees to be considered for the top management job in the restaurants.

The $19 million in monetary relief will be administered through a claims process in which an administrator will send letters to all female workers employed at corporately-owned Outback restaurants from 2002 to the present who have at least three years of tenure.

In addition to the monetary relief, the settlement, contained in a four-year consent decree, requires that Outback:

  • Institute an online application system for employees interested in managerial and other supervisory positions;
  • Employ a human resource executive in the newly created position of Vice President of People;
  • Employ an outside consultant for at least two years who will determine compliance with the terms of the decree and analyze data from the online application system to determine whether women are being provide equal opportunities for promotion; and
  • Report every six months to the EEOC on carrying out the terms of the decree.

“We encourage women who believe they were discriminated against by Outback to come forward and complete the claims form to obtain monetary relief. We also encourage all current female employees at Outback to take advantage of the new application process and let Outback know that they are interested in promotion,” said EEOC Denver Trial Attorney Stephanie Struble, who jointly led the litigation effort, in the announcement.

“There are still too many glass ceilings left to shatter in workplaces throughout corporate America,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “… Hopefully this major settlement will remind employers about the perils of perpetuating promotion practices that keep women from advancing at work.”

Broadcom to Settle Backdating Suit for $160M

December 30, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Broadcom Corp. said Tuesday it will pay more than $160 million to settle a class action investor lawsuit related to stock option backdating.

Broadcom said in its statement that it “steadfastly maintained” the claims weren’t true, but that settling the civil case will allow the chipmaker to move forward, according to the Associated Press. The chipmaker said it would take the settlement, which still needs a judge’s approval, as a one-time charge in the fourth quarter. 

The suit was filed by investors who bought or acquired shares of the company’s common stock between July 21, 2005, and July 13, 2006, and includes several million shareholders, the news report said. 

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed criminal charges against Chief Financial Officer Bill Ruehle and co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III and vacated co-founder Henry Samueli’s guilty plea to a single count of lying to Securities and Exchange Commission investigators (see Broadcom Options Backdating Defendants Cleared by Judge). The judge also dismissed an SEC civil action against Nicholas, Samueli, Ruehle and another former executive. 

Also earlier this month, another federal judge granted final approval to a $118-million partial settlement in a separate shareholder case (see Broadcom Settlement Second Largest in Backdating Suits). Ruehle, Nicholas and Samueli remain as defendants in that case.

«