Attorneys say Cracker Barrel may be in violation of federal and state civil rights laws related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Nonprofit law firm America First Legal (AFL) has formally requested that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti investigate Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. over its DEI initiatives that allegedly promote discriminatory practices by providing employment benefits based on race and sex.
While Cracker Barrel rebranded its dedicated DEI website last year from “Diversity and Inclusion” to “Culture and Inclusion,” attorneys with America First Legal say the chain continues to promote “apparently unlawful commitments to provide unique employment benefits to certain races and sexes.”
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Specifically, AFL alleges the company’s 2024 ESG report tracks workforce demographics by race and gender, showing increased diversity from 2022 to 2024 across professional staff, store management and hourly employees. AFL claims Cracker Barrel uses “diversity” as a proxy for race and sex, violating civil rights laws.
The law firm also highlights Cracker Barrel’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs), which AFL says offer benefits restricted to specific identity groups. According to AFL, the Be Bold BRG aims to “cultivate and develop Black Leaders within the Cracker Barrel organization,” while the HOLA BRG “[p]rovides opportunities to our Latino team members” and “promote[s] Hispanic and Latino culture through hiring, developing, and retaining talent within Cracker Barrel.”
The chain’s LGBT-identified BRG offers “space for [LGBT] people to meet and support each other while increasing [LGBT] awareness at Cracker Barrel.”
The Women’s Connect BRG’s mission is to “inspire the women of Cracker Barrel by empowering, educating and engaging to achieve the strategic initiatives of Cracker Barrel” while it “[h]elps women on our team find connections and grow their careers.”
AFL argues that even if all employees can join these groups, certain benefits appear exclusive to specific races, sexes or identities.
Will Scolinos, counsel for ALF, said treating employees differently because of their race or sex violates numerous federal and state civil rights laws.
“Americans are fed up with major American corporations serving up DEI as if it is entirely OK,” said Scolinos in a statement shared with The Christian Post. “Treating people differently because of the color of their skin or their sex is not only wrong, it is illegal.”
While many companies may be retreating from DEI initiatives after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against two universities that used race as a factor in enrollment decisions, Scolinos claims they are still retaining their discriminatory policies.
“Cracker Barrel and other American corporations must take discrimination by any name off the menu once and for all,” he added.
The EEOC and the Tennessee Attorney General’s office have not confirmed whether they will pursue the investigation. Cracker Barrel did not respond to CP’s request for comment Friday.
On its now-deleted DEI page, Cracker Barrel boasted of its score on the Human Rights Campign’s Corporate Equality Index, which it describes as a “national benchmarking tool” and a “driving force for [LGBT] workplace inclusion.”
The page also boasts of Cracker Barrel banning an “anti-[LGBT]” Christian pastor in 2019 over plans for his church group to meet at a Cracker Barrel store in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“We issued a statement disagreeing strongly with the pastor’s statements of hate and divisiveness, and he was not permitted on-site,” the website said.
