Olive Garden at Pittsburgh Mills discriminated against disabled person, federal commission claims
The Olive Garden restaurant in the Pittsburgh Mills shopping complex in Frazer is accused of discriminating against a man by not hiring him for a busboy’s job two years ago because of his disability, according to a federal lawsuit.
GMRI, which operates the Olive Garden restaurant at Pittsburgh Mills, allegedly violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when a general manager asked the man in September 2021 about his disability, what was “wrong with” him and “how bad” his disability was, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
The EEOC asked the court in its lawsuit to order GMRI to hire the man, who suffers from a condition that requires him to use a cane, give him back pay from when he sought the job, front pay and any past and future nonfinancial losses and punitive damages for any emotional pain and suffering.
The commission said the man was capable of doing the busing job.
The EEOC also seeks to have GMRI end what it says are discriminatory hiring practices and implement training of its workers regarding the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The commission’s lawsuit claims that the general manager saw that the man used a cane and ended the interview, not hiring him as a result of the information obtained from his allegedly illegal questions about the disability.
Instead of hiring the defendant, whom the assistant manager recommended, the Olive Garden restaurant hired two people for similar jobs in November 2021, the EEOC said.
A spokesperson for Darden Restaurants Inc. of Orlando, Fla., parent firm of GMRI, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The EEOC said it sought to avoid the lawsuit by entering into a prelitigation settlement through conciliation, but GMRI refused.
“Employers who ask such illegal questions, or refuse to hire applicants because of their responses to such questions, are violating federal law,” said Debra Lawrence, the EEOC regional attorney in Philadelphia.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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