A juice and sandwich bar chain with stores in West Hollywood, Brentwood and Glendale will pay $715,000 to settle a federal allegation of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced Thursday.
According to the filing, since at least June 2017, Joe & the Juice failed to recruit, hire and promote females in their restaurants.
The EEOC said it investigated the allegations and found reasonable cause to believe that Joe & the Juice violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A resolution in this matter was attained through the EEOC’s pre-litigation administrative conciliation process.
Without admitting liability, Joe & the Juice has agreed to enter into a nationwide four-year conciliation agreement with the EEOC, federal workplace regulators said.
Joe & the Juice has agreed to provide $715,000 in monetary relief to establish a class fund for female applicants that were denied hire into in-store non-management positions, the EEOC said.
Additionally, the company will appoint a monitor to oversee the terms of the agreement and continue to make good-faith efforts to recruit, hire and promote females into in-store positions, according to the agency.
Joe & the Juice has further agreed to develop and implement a nationwide internal online promotion platform to ensure that the workforce has equal access to promotional opportunities. The company will also revise its complaint and investigation processes as necessary, provide training for all in-store and management employees, and to conduct anonymous surveys for their in-store workforce, the agency said.
The EEOC said it will monitor compliance for the term of the four-year agreement.
“It is imperative that individuals have equal access to employment and promotion, regardless of sex,” said Christine Park-Gonzalez, acting director of the EEOC’s Los Angeles district. “It is encouraging to see Joe & the Juice take affirmative steps to increase female representation in in-store positions.”
