Lawsuits

Red Robin Manager Says He Was Fired for Being Gay

Not good.
Not good. Photo: Lori Kemp/Getty Images

A man named Brian Stone, who has managed several locations of Red Robins over the last eight years, says that the company fired him because of his sexual orientation. Now he has taken the federal-discrimination suit to court, and the details emerging reflect horribly on the chain.

The company transferred Stone to a brand-new outpost in Rockland County in 2013, where he worked for a new regional manager, Louis Tsourovakas. According to the suit, “Tsourovakas told the plaintiff that he knew the plaintiff had a bad reputation. Plaintiff, shocked, asked Tsourovakas what he meant. Tsourovakas refused to elaborate.”

Stone says he soon figured out Tsourovakas meant his sexual orientation — and Tsourovakas harassed him about attending a gay-pride parade. After a complaint to HR went unanswered, Stone was allegedly put on a sort of probationary performance-improvement plan. And despite Tsourovakas ultimately admitting he was doing his job just fine, he fired Stone a month later.

The lawsuit has one unusual part, which is that Stone is asking for monetary damages, but he also wants his job back. This man is a Red Robin lifer!

[Journal News]

Red Robin Manager Says He Was Fired for Being Gay