Federal Agency Charged Restaurant Discriminated and Retaliated Against Black Employee

ATLANTA – Iron Hill Brewery of Buckhead, LLC, and Iron Hill Brewery, LLC, a chain of breweries and restaurants across several states, has agreed to pay $115,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC suit alleged Iron Hill discriminated against an African American employee of its Buckhead, Georgia, location when it fired him because of his race and in retaliation for reporting discrimination against women and Hispanic employees. According to the lawsuit, an African American sous chef-in-training complained twice to Iron Hill that management employees were mistreating Hispanic employees and women, including a complaint that a woman was not being provided a safe, private space to express breast milk. He received an unwarranted disciplinary action and was then fired, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation for engaging in protected activity and discrimination based on race. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Iron Hill Brewery of Buckhead, LLC, et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-01275-MHC-JKL) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to the $115,000 in monetary relief, the three-year decree settling the suit requires Iron Hill Brewery to provide nationwide training for its employees focused on Title VII’s prohibitions against race discrimination and retaliation. Iron Hill Brewery is also required to implement an anti-retaliation policy which will provide employees with examples of unlawful retaliation in the workplace. Additionally, the decree requires Iron Hill Brewery to post a notice which sets forth the general requirements of Title VII.

“The EEOC brought this lawsuit to defend an employee’s right to speak up about workplace discrimination,” said Atlanta District Office Regional Attorney Marcus G. Keegan. “This settlement sends a strong message that the EEOC will continue to vindicate the rights of individuals with the courage to come forward to report discrimination against themselves or others in the workplace.”

Atlanta Office District Director Darrell Graham said, “Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on race and from retaliation when they oppose illegal discriminatory practices, and robust employee training is an important step to foster a workplace free of discrimination.”

For more information on race and color discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Atlanta District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in the State of Georgia and the State of South Carolina Counties of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper and Williamsburg.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.