A conservative legal group has launched a civil rights complaint against the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, alleging it illegally discriminates by using Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), gender and racial demographic criteria in its hiring practices.
The complaint, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by America First Legal (AFL), accused Texas Roadhouse of using race and gender as factors in determining who should be appointed to its Board of Directors, tracking employees’ race, gender and ethnicity, as well as running “reputational risk” to its business due to its DEI policies. AFL is alleging that Texas Roadhouse is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The evidence demonstrates that the Company’s hiring, promotion, and recruitment practices violate state and federal law. The evidence also demonstrates that the Company has prioritized unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies over shareholder value,” the complaint alleged.
Texas Roadhouse wrote that it is committed to “attracting, retaining, engaging, recognizing, and developing a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our guests” and provided a chart breaking down the percentages of their employees and managers who were either women or people of color in its 2024 10-K annual report.
The AFL filing also said that, because of increased pressure from the government and investors to disclose its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets, including targets related to diversity and inclusion efforts, the restaurant chain is exposing itself to reputational risk as well as the threat of potential litigation.
The complaint accuses Texas Roadhouse of acting with an “inappropriate disregard of your fiduciary duties to Texas Roadhouse and its shareholders.”
According to the Texas Roadhouse 2024 sustainability report, the company takes DEI factors such as gender and race into consideration when determining nominees to its Board of Directors, along with other factors such as Board experience and financial acumen.
The report also touts professional development programs geared towards identity, including a Women’s Leadership Summit and African American Leadership Summit.
“Texas Roadhouse’s policies are a relic of an era where DEI contaminated American culture with the false belief that good intentions make discrimination okay,” America First Legal Counsel Will Scolinos told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives have been in retreat in corporate America since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Trump signed a flurry of executive orders targeting “illegal DEI” starting on his first day back in the Oval Office, which banned federal agencies from contracting with companies that engage in DEI policies.
Companies like Disney, Paramount and Facebook have all rolled back or eliminated their DEI programs.
Other companies, such as Costco and Apple, have resisted activist shareholder pressure to reform or eliminate their DEI initiatives.
Cracker Barrel, another restaurant chain, is also facing an AFL civil rights complaint over its DEI policies.
The complaint alleged that Cracker Barrel’s “Business Resource Groups” discriminate on the basis of race and sex by only offering employment benefits to workers who fit certain demographic criteria.
Texas Roadhouse did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
