Lawsuits

Baluchi’s Sued for Discriminating Against Brown People

Well, this one’s kind of surprising: Grub Street has gotten its hands on papers filed against the Forest Hills branch of Baluchi’s Indian restaurants, which allege that the restaurant discriminates against brown people. Say, what? Yes, it seems that some diners were charged a mandatory gratuity, which they claim was the result of their race. According to the papers, the restaurant “maintain[s] an overtly discriminatory policy of charging a mandatory gratuity only to people of South Asian races and/or of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi descent.” When the diners complained about the charge, they were followed outside and verbally and physically attacked by Baluchi’s employees, the suit alleges, and they’re now suing for compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s costs. Somehow this seems a bit worse than the Ace Hotel lobby bar’s policy of charging a mandatory gratuity to cope with low-tipping tourists.

Filed Complaint [PDF]

Baluchi’s Sued for Discriminating Against Brown People