Ex-employee sues foodservices giant over firing after objecting to anti-white male DEI program

A former employee of a multinational foodservices corporation is suing for wrongful termination after she requested an accommodation from participation in a diversity program that allegedly forbade white male participants and was promptly removed from her post.

In March 2022, Compass group launched "Operation Equity," a diversity program that allegedly forbade white male participants, the suit alleges. It further describes the effort as a "'white-men-need-not-apply' program" and "a discrimination program against white males and intended to deny white males employment opportunities and benefits made available by COMPASS to women and people of color."

The suit attributes the program to "racial animus" held by senior leaders at Compass. The firm is a multinational foodservices group that manages brands such as Eurest, Levy, FLIK, Chartwells, Restaurant Associates, Canteen, Morrison, Crothall, Bon Appetit, TouchPoint, and FoodBuy.

Courtney Rogers, then a Compass employee and not a white male, objected to the program's contents on religious grounds and requested that she not be required to participate. Her request resulted in a conversation with a senior official at the company, whom the suit claims falsely promised that she could be assigned alternate duties as an accommodation and that she would face no retaliation for reporting her concerns.

Within roughly two weeks of that conversation, Rogers was fired by the same senior official who had promised she would face no retaliation. That individual cited "unsatisfactory performance" as the reason, though the Thomas More Society, which is representing Rogers, determined that none of her personnel records contained negative performance reviews. The suit further states that Rogers received informal positive feedback throughout her time at Compass.

The suit demands a jury trial and asks that the court provide relief, punitive damages, and attorneys fees for Rogers, and require that Compass's senior management in human resources participate in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Fair Treatment training, classes, and oversight.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.