Domino’s Pizza Franchisee Subjected Black Employees to Racial Slurs and Other Race-Based Harassment, Federal Agency Charged

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Parris Pizza Company, LLC, the former owner of a Domino’s Pizza franchise in Olean, New York, has agreed to pay $150,000 and provide other relief to resolve a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced yesterday.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, beginning in at least 2019, Parris Pizza permitted Black employees to be harassed by White coworkers. The mistreatment included two shift managers’ regular and open use of slurs during every shift. Among other incidents, one of the managers mimicked the voice of a slave owner and called an employee “boy” while the other manager stood by and laughed. Black employees repeatedly complained about the harassment, but Parris Pizza did not take any action. Because of the harassment and Parris Pizza’s failure to do anything about it, one employee was compelled to resign.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating and harassing employees on the basis of race. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York (EEOC v. Parris Pizza Co., LLC f/d/b/a Domino’s Pizza, Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-000111-JLS-LGF) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Under the five-year consent decree settling the suit, Parris Pizza will pay $150,000 to the employees who were harassed and will send an apology letter to all former employees. Parris Pizza no longer operates any businesses, however, the consent decree provides that if Parris Pizza opens any new businesses during the duration of the decree, it will institute robust anti-discrimination policies and provide training on the requirements of federal anti-discrimination laws for all employees.

“The law requires employers to thoroughly investigate complaints of racial harassment and take effective action to end a hostile work environment,” said Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District Office. “We are pleased Parris Pizza has agreed to provide relief to the Black employees who had to go to work every day and endure incessant use of racial slurs.”

“This consent decree sends a message to employers that they cannot turn a blind eye to racial harassment,” said EEOC’s New York Acting District Director Timothy Riera. “The EEOC’s Buffalo Local Office will continue to be vigilant in its efforts to identify employers who fail to appropriately address racial harassment to ensure that such unlawful conduct stops.”

More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. For more information about race discrimination visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination.

The EEOC’s New York District Office is responsible for processing discrimination charges, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, northern New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. The agency’s Buffalo Local Office conducted the investigation resulting in this lawsuit.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.