Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
A former general manager at Drake’s Hollywood alleged in a lawsuit that the restaurant discriminated against customers and employees based on race and ethnicity.
Glenn Govias began working for Vandelay Hospitality Group, which owns Drake’s, in September 2019. After Govias was hired, Vandelay CEO William Hunter Pond brought in a new vice president of operations who “instituted a ‘forced ranking’ system of employee evaluations that Pond and Vandelay used as a pretext for firing non-white and female employees,” according to the court document.
Below is a statement from Vandelay.
“VHG strives to maintain a professional and rewarding work environment for all of its employees. The company vigorously disputes Mr. Govias’ allegations and trusts in the legal process to resolve these claims properly.”
Under the “forced ranking” system, which was put in place by John Peck, the vice president of operations and area director, Govias had to compare employees’ performance with each other and rank them, rather than using pre-determined industry-related standards.
According to the petition, filed July 19 in the district court of the 162nd Judicial District, Peck told Govias to fire “the Black guy” and “the Mexican guy,” two employees who didn’t deserve to lose their jobs.
Later on, in July 2020, Peck told Govias to fire “the Black girl” and “the ugly girl,” two more employees who also didn’t do anything to deserve termination, according to the document.
Govias also alleges that the restaurant’s leaders discriminated against customers. According to the filing, a hostess was instructed by Pond, Peck and Vice President of Marketing & Communications Lauren Land to use “dress code violations” as an excuse to turn away guests who didn’t have white-sounding names or were not well-known Dallasites.
Govias claims he was fired because he refused to follow instructions to discriminate against employees and in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim after an injury. Govias fell off a ladder, hitting his neck on a ledge as he fell.
According to the document, when Govias filed his claim for compensation, Vandelay told him he had used all of his vacation days and paid time off. Govias was fired Nov. 11, 2020. Vandelay’s reason, according to Govias, was that Govias had harassed an employee. Govias claims he had only told the employee to stop talking about the “forced ranking” system in front of guests.
Vandelay’s human resources manager called Govias to tell him the company had enough proof to support his termination based on a harassment claim against him.
Govias, represented by lawyers at McCathern, PLLC, is seeking $1 million in damages. He is accusing Vandelay of violating two chapters of the Texas Labor Code, fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and promissory estoppel.
