Aug 17 (Reuters) - A California federal judge on Thursday ruled for a second time that a worker advocacy group lacks standing to pursue claims that Darden Restaurants Inc discriminates against female and minority servers by requiring them to depend on tips.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco said One Fair Wage (OFW) had not shown that the policy at Darden, the largest U.S. restaurant operator, caused any injury to the group that would allow it to proceed with the 2020 lawsuit.
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OFW advocates for the elimination of the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, currently $2.13 an hour under federal law. The group claims tipped Darden employees are more likely to be sexually harassed by customers and coworkers and that minorities earn less from tips than their white counterparts.
Chen gave OFW 30 days to file an amended complaint "to sufficiently allege a nexus between the injury to Darden employees and OFW’s organizational injury."
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The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did Orlando, Florida-based Darden, which operates Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris Steak House and several other chains.
Chen had dismissed the lawsuit in 2021, ruling that OFW lacked standing because it was not Darden's employee under the federal law banning workplace race and sex discrimination.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March revived the case,...
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