EEOC Sues Reggio’s Pizza for Retaliation

CHICAGO - Reggio's Pizza, Inc., which operates restaurants and sells ready-made pizza throughout Chicago, violated federal law when it retaliated against an employee who objected to workplace harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the suit, Reggio's Pizza fired an employee at its O'Hare Airport location because she complained about harassment. The employee, who is transgender, reported to the company that she believed a manager had outed her to other employees. As a result, coworkers misgendered her, prompting a customer to make an offensive comment using both an LGBTQ+ slur and a racial slur. When the employee reported these additional incidents to a manager, he took her badge, which was tantamount to firing her, as it prevented her from returning to work.

Such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation against employees who object to discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-08910), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC's suit seeks monetary relief for the employee harmed by the alleged unlawful practices, as well as injunctive relief intended to prevent Reggio's Pizza from engaging in retaliation in the future.

"Retaliation in the restaurant industry remains a serious problem," said Greg Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC's Chicago District Office. "Complaints of harassment must be taken seriously and investigated promptly. Federal law makes it illegal to fire an employee for making a good-faith complaint of unlawful harassment."

Amrith Aakre, district director of the EEOC's Chicago office, said, "Employees who report unlawful harassment are entitled to a prompt remedy, not termination."

For more information on harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment. For more information on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-sogi-discrimination.

The EEOC's Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.