Dating Site Sued for Alleged Job Discrimination Against Men

It’s a fact that gender discrimination exists in the U.S. It’s also true that certain professions are dominated by one sex, for better or for worse. In the eyes of the law, however, using gender as a basis for hiring employees is illegal in all but a few cases. Earlier this month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began legal action against a Florida-based dating site, accusing it of discriminating against men when hiring for sales representatives and dating directors.

The discrimination has been going on since 2007, according to the EEOC – and as such, men are now underrepresented in the workforce of It’s Just Lunch.

The company, It’s Just Lunch USA LLC, was hit by the lawsuit on July 12. The EEOC claims that there is a company-wide policy of not employing men for the positions. Inside sales representatives are responsible for recruiting new members for the dating service, while directors match and introduce members to one another. The discrimination has been going on since 2007, according to the EEOC – and as such, men are now underrepresented in the workforce of It’s Just Lunch.

On top of the discrimination, the company’s also accused of firing former HR director Lynda Twist after she raised objections to the policy.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing a range of laws to govern workplace equality. In this case, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964) makes it illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, nationality or sex. It’s also illegal for employers to retaliate against workers because they complained about a violation.

The July 12 lawsuit seeks an injunction that would ban It’s Just Lunch from further discrimination based on gender, as well as retaliation against employees. It also seeks to get Twist reinstated with damages plus back pay, as well as appropriate back pay for unsuccessful male applicants.

Twist was reportedly told by the company’s CEO that women were preferred for the two positions in question. When a change in management in 2009 allowed her to express opposition to the policy directly to the chairman and CEO, she was fired. Twist then filed a complained with the EEOC.

The EEOC lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.