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Kickback Jack’s to pay $1.1 million to settle EEOC gender discrimination claims
By Kenneth Lee Jr.
February 4, 2026 at 1:32 PM EST
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the restaurant chain Kickback Jack’s will pay $1.1 million to settle claims that it refused to hire men for certain jobs.
According to the EEOC, the chain of sports bars rejected male applicants for non-managerial positions — including servers, bartenders and hosts — dating back to 2019.
Federal investigators found that at 19 Kickback Jack’s locations, including some in North Carolina, fewer than 3% of employees were men. Some restaurants had no male servers at all. The chain has a location in Mooresville, as well as in other North Carolina cities, Tennessee and Virginia.
As part of the settlement, Kickback Jack’s agreed to stop discriminating against male job applicants and to include images of male servers in its promotional materials.
The EEOC enforces federal laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on sex and other protected characteristics.
According to the EEOC, the chain of sports bars rejected male applicants for non-managerial positions — including servers, bartenders and hosts — dating back to 2019.
Federal investigators found that at 19 Kickback Jack’s locations, including some in North Carolina, fewer than 3% of employees were men. Some restaurants had no male servers at all. The chain has a location in Mooresville, as well as in other North Carolina cities, Tennessee and Virginia.
As part of the settlement, Kickback Jack’s agreed to stop discriminating against male job applicants and to include images of male servers in its promotional materials.
The EEOC enforces federal laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on sex and other protected characteristics.