Conservative Legal Group Requests Tennessee Attorney General Investigate Cracker Barrel for DEI Discrimination

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

A government accountability legal group has formally requested an investigation by the Tennessee Attorney General and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) into Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Inc., alleging the company is violating state and federal civil rights laws through discriminatory DEI policies.

America First Legal (AFL) has filed a complaint claiming Cracker Barrel is providing “unique employment benefits to certain races and sexes. The company’s public statements, regulatory filings, and internal policies show that it uses ‘diversity’ as a proxy for race and sex,” according to the press release.

They state that last year Cracker Barrel rebranded their dedicated DEI website from “Diversity and Inclusion” to “Culture and Inclusion” which claims that, “Discrimination, overt or through unconscious bias, has no place at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store,” yet AFL points to the company’s 2024 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report which tracks workforce demographics by race and gender and clearly shows an intentional uptick in hiring a more “diverse” workforce across Cracker Barrel’s professional staff, store-level management, and hourly workers since 2022.

The percentage of women on the professional staff has risen from 52% to 55%, and 18% of the professional staff is labeled as a racial/ethnic minority, up from 15% in 2022. Store-level management now has 51% women compared to 47% and minority positions have increased from 24% to 27%. And in the hourly staff category, the percentage of women has remained consistent at 68% over the past three years, but the minority percentages have climbed from 34% to 38%.

Furthermore, the complaint highlights Cracker Barrel’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) which are supposedly intended to “support the development of diverse team members”, but certain BRGs appear to offer benefits exclusively based on an employee’s race or sex. 

Some examples include groups specifically aiming to develop and promote opportunities for “Black leaders” and “Latino team members” while others provide “inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ people to meet and increase awareness” or “empowering, educating, and engaging to achieve strategic initiatives” to inspire the women of Cracker Barrel.

Reportedly, Cracker Barrel admits in its 2024 shareholder Proxy Statement that pursing “diversity” specifically equates to considering race and sex, and diversity of age, gender, race and ethnic background are factored in when evaluating candidates for the company’s Board of Directors (BoD).

“Treating employees differently because of their race or sex is not only wrong, it is illegal and violates numerous federal and state civil rights laws,” the press release concludes.

AFL has sent letters to the EEOC, the TN Attorney General’s office, and Cracker Barrel’s BoD stating the company “does not hide its discriminatory intent”, particularly denying opportunities to white males, and the DEI programs are unlawful through violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

In March of this year the EEOC also issued a warning against “Unlawful DEI-Related Discrimination” explaining that the widespread adoption of DEI throughout businesses, universities, and cultural institutions in the past five years “does not change the longstanding legal prohibitions against the use of race, sex, and other protected characteristics in employment,” and that any such DEI initiatives, policies, programs, or practices may be unlawful if employer actions are motivated by any of these protected characteristics.

AFL was co-founded by President Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and is a nonprofit law firm created to “unapologetically and boldly defend the rights or everyday Americans” through “rigorous litigation and government accountability efforts to oppose lawless government overreach and fight to restore the rule of law in the United States.”

One of the firm’s top priorities is dismantling DEI work and the firm has challenged corporate giants like Target, Johnson & Johnson, and Southwest Airlines over illegal DEI policies.

AFL also focuses on litigation surrounding election integrity, parental rights, and immigration, an unsurprising list of pursuits given Stephen Miller’s intense dedication to preserving “our magnificent Republic and the citizens who nobly sustain and defend her.”

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.