Case: EEOC v. MCCORMICK AND SCHMICK'S RESTAURANT CORP

1:06-cv-07806 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Sept. 28, 2006

Closed Date: Sept. 17, 2009

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Case Summary

The New York office of the EEOC brought this suit against McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in September 2006. While we do not have a copy of the complaint, it ostensibly alleged that the defendant discriminated against employees based on their race, African American, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After some discovery and a discovery dispute, the judge denied the parties' request for a settlement conference. Subsequently, however, the parties settled the case in March 2008 by entry of a consent decree.The decree included non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the development of an anti-discrimination policy, and required the posting and distribution of the anti-discrimination policy. The decree also required McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp. to provide no fewer than two hours of training in Federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment for all employees at its New York City restaurant. The consent decree also recognized that the defendant had clarified and expanded its website and toll-free telephone number to make clear that they are available for reporting incidents of employment discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. The EEOC maintained the ability to monitor and review compliance with the consent decree. Furthermore, the decree required the defendant to provide a report to the EEOC thirty days before the expiration of the decree regarding any complaints by employees in the New York City restaurant about discrimination on the basis of race. The defendant was also required to appoint an Equal Employment Office Coordinator to investigate discrimination complaints. The injunctive parts of the decree had a term ending on September 30, 2009. If the EEOC found non-compliance, the decree called for court enforcement. In addition, McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp. agreed to pay the three complainants $20,000, $6,000 and $4,000 respectively. The decree was to last for 18 months. The docket sheet doesn't show any further enforcement took place; the case was presumably closed in 2009.

Summary Authors

Justin Kanter (5/28/2008)

Clearinghouse (6/11/2017)

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

1:06-cv-07806	Docket (PACER) EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.	March 17, 2008	March 17, 2008 Docket
10 1:06-cv-07806	Consent Decree EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.	March 17, 2008	March 17, 2008 Settlement Agreement

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Resources

Resources related to this case
Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Under the Radar: Visibility and the Effects of Discrimination Lawsuits in Small and Large Firms Carly Knight, Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev	Research on how discrimination lawsuits affect corporate diversity has yielded mixed results. Qualitative studies highlight the limited efficacy of lawsuits in the typical workplace, finding that lit…	March 2022	April 1, 2022 https://cris.tau.ac.il/...

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Docket

Last updated March 24, 2025, 8:05 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.. Document filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.(es, ) (Entered: 10/02/2006)	Sept. 28, 2006	Sept. 28, 2006
	SUMMONS ISSUED as to McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.. (es, ) (Entered: 10/02/2006)	Sept. 28, 2006	Sept. 28, 2006
	Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck is so designated. (es, ) (Entered: 10/02/2006)	Sept. 28, 2006	Sept. 28, 2006
	Case Designated ECF. (es, ) (Entered: 10/02/2006)	Sept. 28, 2006	Sept. 28, 2006
2	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Dov Kesselman on behalf of McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service)(Kesselman, Dov) (Entered: 10/17/2006)	Oct. 17, 2006	Oct. 17, 2006
3	ORDER ADMITTING ATTORNEY PRO HAC VICE: the motion for admission of Gerald L. Maatman Jr. to practice pro hac vice in this action as counsel for dft is granted upon payment of the applicable fee. (Signed by Judge Denny Chin on 11/2/06) (dle, ) (Entered: 11/02/2006)	Nov. 2, 2006	Nov. 2, 2006
	Transmission to Attorney Admissions Clerk. Transmitted re: 3 Order Admitting Attorney Pro Hac Vice, to the Attorney Admissions Clerk for updating of Attorney Information. (dle, ) (Entered: 11/02/2006)	Nov. 2, 2006	Nov. 2, 2006
4	RULE 7.1 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. Identifying McCormick & Schmick?s Seafood Restaurants, Inc., a publicly-held corporation, through its subsidiaries McCormick & Schmick Acquisition Corp. and McCormick & Schmick Acquisition Corp. II. as Corporate Parent. Document filed by McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service)(Kesselman, Dov) (Entered: 12/01/2006)	Dec. 1, 2006	Dec. 1, 2006
5	ANSWER to Complaint. Document filed by McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service)(Kesselman, Dov) (Entered: 12/01/2006)	Dec. 1, 2006	Dec. 1, 2006
	CASHIERS OFFICE REMARK on 3 Order Admitting Attorney Pro Hac Vice in the amount of $25.00, paid on 11/8/2006, Receipt Number 596351. (gm) (Entered: 12/06/2006)	Dec. 6, 2006	Dec. 6, 2006
7	ORDER the EEOC is a party and defendant is entitled to depose a party representative, but only as to factual matters. Defendant may not, however, depose Ms. Barno as to any deliberative matters or why she did or did not do certain things, Defendant may not question Ms. Barno, or any representative of the EEOC, on why it made its probable cause finding. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Denny Chin on 8/7/2007) (jmi) (Entered: 08/08/2007)	Aug. 7, 2007	Aug. 7, 2007
8	ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Denny Chin from Michael Ranis dated 9/23/07 re: Discovery dispute re an additional deposition. ENDORSEMENT: The defendant's objection to the EEOC's request to depose Caldwell is sustained; the request is DENIED. (Signed by Judge Denny Chin on 10/4/07) (cd) (Entered: 10/04/2007)	Oct. 4, 2007	Oct. 4, 2007
9	ORDER : The trial in this action shall commence on March 10, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. The parties shall submit a joint pretrial order, request to charge, proposed voir dire, and proposed verdict sheet by March 7, 2008. The parties' request for a settlement conference is denied. (Signed by Judge Denny Chin on 2/11/2008) (jpo) (Entered: 02/13/2008)	Feb. 11, 2008	Feb. 11, 2008
10	CONSENT DECREE AND JUDGMENT # 08,0470 in favor of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp. in the amount of $ 30,000.00. (Signed by Judge Denny Chin on 3/17/08) (Attachments: # 1 notice of right to appeal)(ml) (Entered: 03/24/2008)	March 17, 2008	March 17, 2008 Clearinghouse

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Case Details

State / Territory:

New York

Case Type(s):

Equal Employment

Special Collection(s):

EEOC Study — in sample

Key Dates

Filing Date: Sept. 28, 2006

Closing Date: Sept. 17, 2009

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one or more workers.

Plaintiff Type(s):

EEOC Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

EEOC

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Private Entity/Person

McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp.

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e

Other Dockets:

Southern District of New York 1:06-cv-07806

Available Documents:

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Monetary Relief

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed

Relief Granted:

Damages

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree

Content of Injunction:

Discrimination Prohibition

Implement complaint/dispute resolution process

Monitoring

Post/Distribute Notice of Rights / EE Law

Provide antidiscrimination training

Reporting

Retaliation Prohibition

Amount Defendant Pays: 30000

Order Duration: 2008 - 2009

Issues

Discrimination Area:

Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc.)

Disparate Treatment

Discrimination Basis:

Race discrimination

Affected Race(s):

Black

EEOC-centric:

Direct Suit on Merits

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of EEOC v. MCCORMICK AND SCHMICK'S RESTAURANT CORP, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/8488/ (last updated 6/11/2017).