Five Guys Hit with Civil Rights Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Gender Pay Discrimination

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A Pennsylvania woman has filed a proposed class action against Five Guys Operations, LLC in which the former general manager alleges the nationwide burger chain unlawfully fired her in September 2015 in retaliation for complaining about her pay. The complaint notes the plaintiff previously filed a Charge of Discrimination – Class Action with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in April 2016, and has since exhausted all administrative remedies available. The case says the woman received a Notice of Right to Sue from the EEOC in September 2017.

“Despite being a model employee as a Crew Member, Shift Leader, Assistant General Manager, and General Manager, [the plaintiff] was consistently and systematically paid less than her male peers for the same work in each position,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiff claims that she and two other female employees in April 2015 confronted a district manager about the fact that female general managers were paid less than male general managers despite performing the same work. Although the women were told by the district manager that he would investigate, the plaintiff was reportedly placed on a “Performance Improvement Plan” in retaliation for confronting a superior, according to the complaint.

“In September 2015, [the plaintiff] was terminated under the guise of not meeting the Performance Improvement Plan standards,” the case asserts.