NYC Restaurant Industry Hiring is Discriminatory, Study Shows

There was a big "summit" meeting this morning at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak restaurant to discuss the release of an interesting, albeit unsurprising, study highlighting the racist hiring practices at NYC restaurants. Commissioned by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, the study enlisted 37 people to pose as white, black, Asian-American and Latino job applicants and visit restaurants looking for work. Grouped in pairs with different races (but matched for age, appearance and gender), they would arrive at restaurants within about a half hour of each other to apply for a job.

The fake job-seekers were sent to 181 NYC restaurants between January 2006 and June 2007, and the study found discrimination at play 31% of the time. White job applicants got a greater number of followup interviews, more job offers, and their work histories were less likely to be thoroughly investigated. Marc Bendick Jr., the economist who conducted the study, told reporters today, "The rate of discrimination is worse for jobs that are really worth having. You don’t get a lot of discrimination for hamburger-flipping jobs at McDonalds... These are the jobs that you can make $55,000 to $100,000 a year."

But there's even discrimination at work amongst the white applicants; the ones with mild European accents were much more likely to be hired than whites with boring domestic dialects. When will the restaurant industry stop discriminating against white Americans?! Rekha Eanni-Rodriguez, director of the Restaurant Opportunities Center, tells City Room, "It’s not just a matter of a few bad apples. We do believe it’s an industry-wide trend." Her group wants legislation requiring restaurants to adhere to uniform promotion policies and make job information for highly-paid positions more publicly available.

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By John Del Signore in Food on March 31, 2009 3:12 PM

Comments [rss]

MFer

The Chinaman better stop taking all our high tech jobs, is all I know.

OsakaRock

Because I really want a hoodrat who flipped Burgers at McDonalds Serving my Foie Gras

thefacts

Why are there only Asian waiters in Asian restaurants? Why do Asian restaurants discriminate against lo fan?

Why don't they hire Frenchmen in Italian restaurants, or Italians in French restaurants?

Why is McDonald's so multi-ethnic?

Can a goy serve Kosher food? Can a Jew pull a pint in an Irish bar?

Why are there no Mexicans waiting in Indo-Pak restaurants, or Pakis serving tamales at Rositas.

Shinobi Shaw

#2, which is why the Asians (Far East) and the Hindus are crowding the market for high achievement jobs.

I think Whites (especially Average Joe) will just be like any other minority in about 15-20 years (It's already happening).

Second, #3 the article also states that Whites with "boring domestic dialects" were discriminated over European accents.

So this is not about "gansta" anything.

nohateparade

you rule so hard.

longacre

I particularly love the pub bartenders who speak with thick brogues despite actually hailing from Florida.

ides_of_march

Shakedown ahead.

If it's an upscale restaurant perhaps the owners simply want waiters who can speak proper English and not like some imbecilic gangsta rapper.

Qraymond

I am sick of this racist bullshit.

ides_of_march

Any comment not pre-approved by fat bigot Al Sharpton and the diversity police is considered racist these days.

Rocknrope

White people have an advantage over black, asian, and latino people.

In other news, fire trucks are red.

Gothamist_Cynic

So why do restaurants hire so many Mexicans then? The study is bunk.

NannyState

It's always 'front of house' vs. 'back of house'. You know whose serving those veal medallions and making bank, and you know who's in the kitchens making shit.