CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County woman accuses TGI Fridays of pregnancy, sexual and racial discrimination.
Julianette Hill filed her complaint April 24 in Kanawha Circuit Court against The Falcons Group Atl LLC, Falcons Restaurant Group LLC, Falcons Management LLC all doing business as TGI Fridays as well as Wayne “Shorty” Staton and Robin Shultz.
According to her complaint, Hill began working at the TGI Fridays in Cross Lanes from May 2013 to 2016 as a server. She returned in 2018, was promoted to bartender in 2020 and worked there until January 16, 2023.
Hill, who is 31 and Black, describes herself as a “hard-working mother.” She became pregnant with her first child in 2014. After that birth, she says she suffered postpartum depression and needed time off to death with it.
She was admitted to Highland Hospital and diagnosed with major depression disorder. When she was released in April 2016, she tried to return to Fridays to work, but she says the defendants refused and fired her.
After being rehired in 2018, she became pregnant again in 2020. She suffered from morning sickness and requested time off to deal with the illness. Instead, she says she was written up for calling off from work and removed from the schedule for six weeks despite having a note from her doctor.
Hill says Payroll & Human Resources Manager Toya Houchins contacted her during that six-week period. When Hill tried to discuss being written up and to report discrimination, Houchins responded by saying, “I do not want to discuss your complaint. I was just calling to see when you can return to work.”
In April or May 2021, Hill says she went out for drinks with Shultz, who was her manager. Afterward, Hill says she went home with Schultz and engaged in sex with Shultz and Shultz’s male partner.
In August 2021, Hill says she told Shultz she was pregnant. She says Shultz replied by forcefully telling her to get an abortion. She says this conversation took place at work. Hill then complained to Staton, the restaurant’s general manager. His response was that she needed to get a DNA test and took no further action to protect Hill.
A few months later, Hill says Shultz “bumped” Hill’s food orders from the tracking system. That generally means customers are served food that is cold, and servers receive lower tips because of unhappy customers.
When Hill asked Shultz to stop bumping her orders, she says Shultz told her to go to the office to discuss it. When Hill said she couldn’t do that because the bar was full, she says Shultz forcefully grabbed her arm and tried to drag her to the office. Hill says she was written up for that incident, but Shultz received no discipline.
Hill says fellow bartender Jason Conley and Shultz made comments to her about her pregnancy and made fun of her for not being able to wear jeans to work. After Hill went on maternity leave, she returned to work in March 2022. But she says the harassment continued.
She says Conley harassed and humiliated her in front of customers and on social media, such as making comments about her “four baby daddies” and encouraging customers to engage in such behavior.
Hill also says Conley made racial comments to her, such as telling Hill her family was in the restaurant when a group of Black patrons were seated. She says Shultz, coworker Raymond Hemmingway and Kitchen Manager Jay Blair also made racial comments to her, such as Blair inviting her to his swimming pool but hoping she didn’t turn the water “into tea.” He also told her the only way to be a successful female bartender was to be “a hot Latino or a hot blonde.”
Also, when some Hennessy was suspected to be missing from the bar, Hill says Blair blamed her because it is “a Black drink.” She says Hemmingway used the N-word when referring to Black delivery men.
When Hill reported Hemmingway’s conduct to manager Amy Hammer, she says nothing was done. When she reported it to Staton, she says he laughed it off and told her to brush it off.
In August 2022, Hill says a regular customer told her she had found a baggie of illicit drugs – likely cocaine – in a to-go order she had picked up earlier in the week. The customer told Hill she took the baggie back into the store and approached Blair, telling him, “I think you dropped this in my bag.” She said Blair thanked her.
When other staff members saw this interaction, Hill says they asked Blair what happened. He told them it was a “love note” the customer had given him. After the customer told Hill about the incident, she reported it to manager Kelsey Grigsby and Staton, who told her to “brush it under the rug.”
Hill says she made an informal report to law enforcement, who told her a manager would have to file a complaint for it to be formally investigated. Staton also told Hill he would be upset with her if she got Blair fired. He also told her to “stop gossiping” and cut her hours. When she asked how to get her hours back, she says Staton told her “your attitude needs to change” and “one of your seasoned coworkers said you are a cancer in the building.”
Soon, Hill says she felt she had no choice but to resign. She submitted a three-month notice in October 2022, but tried to withdraw it. She says Staton refused to allow her to continue to work.
On January 16, 2023, Hill says she was constructively discharged.
Hill accuses the defendants of race and sex discrimination in violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act, retaliation, retaliatory discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful termination and/or constructive discharge as well as negligent retention and supervision of employees.
She seeks compensatory damages for back pay, front pay, emotional distress, pain and suffering. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Hill is being represented by Laura Davidson of Mountain State Justice Inc. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-352
