7th Circuit rejects rude restaurant worker’s claim

We’ve all encountered them—a surly hospitality worker who seems to be in the wrong line of work. A recent decision from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose decisions apply to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) jettisoned a grouchy ex-restaurant greeter’s gender discrimination claim.

Hostess without the most-ess

Nikkolai Anderson worked as a hostess at Chicago restaurant Mott Street from 2015 until 2017. During that time, the restaurant’s owners observed she was rude toward customers, gave curt responses to questions, avoided eye contact with customers, and answered the phone without an appropriate greeting. At least once a month, she had a negative interaction with a customer that required the restaurant owners to intervene. The restaurant also received numerous negative Yelp reviews about her, including one in September 2017.

The restaurant terminated Anderson two days after receiving the September 2017 review. They told her she was being terminated because of her negative guest reviews, failure to follow restaurant rules, insubordination, and negative interactions with the restaurant’s owners.

Anderson filed a lawsuit in Illinois federal court alleging sex discrimination. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Mott Street, and she appealed to the appellate court.

Ingredient list

To establish a sex discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Anderson needed to show that: