SEXISM WILL BE SERVED

By Adam Zagorin/Washington

Men who dine at Hooters restaurants have certain expectations, some of which may have to do with food and drink. But the chain's primary attraction, waitresses of ample bosom and less than ample costume, got some measure of legal protection last week. The company settled a class action in Chicago brought by men who claimed sexual discrimination when the chain refused to hire them as waiters.

Atlanta-based Hooters of America employs 10,000 "Hooters Girls," young women the chain describes as "the surfer girls next door." Got up in orange short-shorts and tight-fitting tops, they earn $2.13 an hour plus tips dispensing food, drink and cheerleader charm at the company's 204 restaurants in 40 states and five foreign countries. Last year the chain, which is privately held, brought in revenues of $325 million.

The out-of-court settlement, which still needs court approval, allows Hooters to hire exclusively women as Hooters Girls, but requires a $3.75 million payment to seven plaintiffs, their lawyers and any other men who can prove they were denied jobs reserved for women. Hooters, which says it already employs 3,000 men in largely back-of-the-restaurant functions, agreed to consider men on an equal basis with women for more visible jobs, such as manager, bartender assistant and, naturally, busboy.

The company has gleefully fought attempts to rein in its labor policy. Beginning in 1991, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suggested a variety of remedies, including sensitivity training, the hiring of more men and the creation of a $22 million fund to assist "dissuaded" male job applicants. But Hooters staged protests in Washington, led by a bevy of lovely you-know-Hooters, suggesting that the EEOC get a life. The agency, citing a lack of funds, eventually dropped its case against the chain.

How can such blatant discrimination be legal? The critical distinction that the courts have made is the idea of "bona fide occupational qualification." For example, directors can specify women to play women's parts in plays or movies, and positions as guards in high-security prisons can preclude women. Notes Doug Huron, a leading labor lawyer in Washington: "Courts have made very few exceptions in sex-discrimination cases, but the Hooters settlement would appear to be one."

Hooters didn't try to claim that femininity was essential to serving food; rather, that scantily clad waitresses are integral to its marketing. As spokesman Mike McNeil put it, "Our business is female sex appeal, and in order to have that, you've got to be a female." To twist an old saying, Hooters sells the jiggle, not the steak.

--By Adam Zagorin/Washington