Suit alleges discrimination by CMU eatery

Original Hot Dog Shop Inc., a fixture in Oakland since 1960, was accused Tuesday of race discrimination in a lawsuit filed by a federal agency.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the company violated federal law when it fired black employees because of their race. They worked at a restaurant the company operated on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Oakland.

The suit, which seeks a jury trial, was filed in federal court in Pittsburgh under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the commission said.

It alleges that in September 2005, Bruce Simon, general manager of the outlet at the CMU food court, ordered a store manager to fire Anton Rumph, of Pittsburgh, and other black employees there.

Simon, who is identified in the suit as the son of Original Hot Dog Shop owner Sydney Simon, could not be reached for comment. Stephen Laidhold, a Downtown attorney who the EEOC said represented the company, could not be reached.

"The manager indicated that he was told by Bruce Simon to fire the black employees because CMU students did not like to be waited on by black employees," the lawsuit said.

The manager, who is not identified in the lawsuit, fired some employees, then resigned, according to the EEOC. Simon then fired the rest of the black employees himself, the agency said.

Tim Michael, assistant vice president for campus services at CMU, said, "We are not aware of any feedback for the (Original Hot Dog Shop) that concerns the race of its servers. Frankly, we would be surprised if that were true, considering the diversity of this campus."

The CMU site, which closed in May, was one of three operated by the company.

Its original location at Forbes Avenue and Bouquet Street near the University of Pittsburgh's main campus for years has been a popular spot for students and others.

Last year, Sydney Simon said he had decided to put the Oakland location, widely referred to as the "O" or "Dirty O," up for sale, citing declining business.

The company's other restaurant is located on Route 286 in Plum.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, Original Hot Dog Shop claims the employees were fired because of a number of reasons, including customer complaints, performance or because they had not been trained property.

"However, these claims are not worthy of belief and are pretextual for race discrimination," the lawsuit says.

In a news release, the EEOC said it filed the suit in U.S. District court in Pittsburgh after failing to reach a voluntary settlement with the Original Hot Dog Shop.

It is seeking to eliminate the discriminatory practices it cited in the action, and have the company compensate the employees for monetary losses.

The agency also is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

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