Texas Roadhouse lawsuits span age discrimination, wage and tip violations, dram shop liability, slip-and-fall injuries from the chain’s signature peanut shells, website accessibility, and a recent wave of pending complaints over diversity programs and menu labeling. The largest resolved case is a $12 million EEOC age discrimination settlement in 2017. The most recent high-profile verdict came in June 2025, when a Georgia jury cleared the company of blame in a wrongful death case tied to a drunk-driving crash.
The $12 Million EEOC Age Discrimination Case
The most consequential legal action against the Louisville-based chain was a federal age discrimination suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 2011. The agency alleged a nationwide pattern of refusing to hire applicants aged 40 and older for “front-of-the-house” jobs, including servers, hosts, bartenders, and server assistants, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.1EEOC. Texas Roadhouse To Pay $12 Million To Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit It was the largest age discrimination suit the EEOC had filed in more than three decades, covering nearly 500 locations and thousands of workers.2ProPublica. Restaurant Chain Settles Age Bias Case for $12 Million
The case, EEOC v. Texas Roadhouse (Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-11732-DJC), went to trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in early 2017. After nearly four weeks, the jury hung. A retrial was set for May 2017, but the parties settled first.1EEOC. Texas Roadhouse To Pay $12 Million To Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit During the litigation, the government alleged the company had used labels such as “Old N’ Chubby” to describe older applicants.2ProPublica. Restaurant Chain Settles Age Bias Case for $12 Million Texas Roadhouse did not admit wrongdoing.3SHRM. Texas Roadhouse Agrees to $12 Million Age Bias Settlement
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper approved a consent decree on March 31, 2017. It directed Texas Roadhouse to pay $12 million to applicants aged 40 and older who had sought front-of-the-house positions between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2014. The decree also enjoined future age-based hiring discrimination, required the company to create a diversity director position, installed an independent compliance monitor over recruitment and hiring of older applicants, and remained in force for three and a half years.1EEOC. Texas Roadhouse To Pay $12 Million To Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit
Wage and Tip Lawsuits
Several suits have challenged how Texas Roadhouse pays tipped workers and managers.
In Crenshaw v. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (Civil Action No. 11-10549-JLT), Massachusetts servers alleged the company violated state tip laws by sharing server gratuities with managers, hosts, and hostesses. Because employees did not keep all their tips, the suit claimed, the company’s “tip credit” against the minimum wage was improper, leaving workers paid below the legal minimum. Texas Roadhouse settled on April 30, 2012, for $5 million. The class covered anyone who worked as a server at a Massachusetts location from January 18, 2005, through court approval, with roughly $3.2 million distributed to class members and a $75 floor per person.4Good Jobs First – Violation Tracker. Crenshaw v. Texas Roadhouse Settlement
A parallel South Carolina class action brought by servers Rachel Bontempi and Tiffany Tatham accused franchise locations in Columbia and Anderson of forcing tipped employees, paid $2.13 an hour, to share tips with back-of-house kitchen staff in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case settled for $700,000. Texas Roadhouse denied wrongdoing and said it settled to avoid further litigation costs.5GoUpstate. Waitresses Win $700,000 Verdict Against Texas Roadhouse
In January 2020, a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania alleged the chain misclassified assistant managers as exempt from overtime. Plaintiffs said these managers routinely did the same work as hourly nonexempt employees but were denied overtime under federal and Pennsylvania law.6Law360. Texas Roadhouse Accused of Stiffing Managers on OT
Georgia Wrongful Death Case and 2025 Verdict
In one of the chain’s most closely watched recent cases, the parents of 13-year-old Leonardo “Leo” Camacho sued Texas Roadhouse for $95 million under Georgia’s Dram Shop Act. On June 16, 2020, Leo and his father Jose were struck by a vehicle driven by Katie Pancione while doing yard work at Christ Culture Center in Cumming, Georgia. Leo died five days later. His father suffered a broken leg.7The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jury Clears Texas Roadhouse of Blame in Death of Georgia Boy Hit by Car
Pancione had been at the Cumming Texas Roadhouse shortly before the crash. A blood sample taken more than three hours after she left showed a blood alcohol content of 0.176%, over twice Georgia’s legal limit of 0.08%.8Jury Verdicts. Camacho v. Texas Roadhouse Summary Judgment Brief
The civil case turned on whether the restaurant was responsible for serving Pancione when she was allegedly already visibly intoxicated. The defense introduced surveillance footage from the bar and argued she showed no signs of intoxication when served. In June 2025, an Atlanta jury found Texas Roadhouse 0% at fault and assigned full responsibility to Pancione.7The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jury Clears Texas Roadhouse of Blame in Death of Georgia Boy Hit by Car
Peanut Shell Slip-and-Fall Cases
The chain’s practice of giving away buckets of peanuts and allowing patrons to toss shells on the floor has produced its own stream of injury suits.
In 2013, Angela Bishoff sued after slipping on peanut debris at a Temple, Texas, location and breaking her kneecap. A Bell County jury awarded $185,000 but found Bishoff 50% at fault for wearing high heels and failing to exercise ordinary care, reducing her recovery to $92,500 under Texas comparative negligence rules. A similar case in Texarkana settled before trial around the same time.9With Vic Legal. $185K Award More Than Peanuts for Restaurant
In 2016, Iowa resident Curtis Jensen filed a federal lawsuit alleging he shattered his knee after slipping on peanut shells at the Cedar Falls location in February 2015. The complaint called the floor conditions “extremely dangerous” and accused the company of negligence and recklessness.10The Des Moines Register. Iowa Man Sues Texas Roadhouse After Slipping on Peanuts The outcome is not publicly reported.
Website Accessibility and Breastfeeding Suits
In June 2017, Victor Andrews, a legally blind plaintiff, filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging the Texas Roadhouse website was inaccessible to screen readers. The complaint cited missing alt-text, inaccessible checkboxes and navigation, and a design requiring a mouse. It alleged violations of Title III of the ADA, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York State Civil Rights Law, and sought injunctive relief and damages.11ClassAction.org. Andrews v. Texas Roadhouse Complaint The resolution is not available in public records.
In 2018, Louisville mother Sadie Durbin sued over an incident at a Louisville restaurant on November 15, 2018. Her complaint said a manager named David Mitchell approached her as she nursed her seven-week-old daughter, unrolled a napkin, told her the restaurant had been “getting a lot of complaints” and that she needed to cover up, then dropped the napkin on her table and walked away. Durbin sought damages for emotional distress and therapy costs and said she wanted to force the company to improve employee training on mothers’ right to breastfeed in public, protected under Kentucky law since 2006. Texas Roadhouse disputed her account, said it had tried to resolve the matter before suit, and stated it “welcomes and supports the rights of nursing mothers.” The manager was removed from the restaurant for three days with pay after social media threats, then returned to work.12TODAY. Mom Suing Texas Roadhouse Over Public Breastfeeding Incident
Pending Matters in 2025 and 2026
On August 1, 2025, America First Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the EEOC alleging that Texas Roadhouse’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs amount to unlawful race and sex discrimination. The complaint cited the company’s Women’s Leadership Summit, a 2024 African American Leadership Summit, and statements in annual and sustainability filings that the company weighs gender, race, and age in board selection and aims for a workforce that “mirrors the diversity of our guests.” AFL alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.13Fox Business. Texas Roadhouse Hit With Civil Rights Complaint Alleging DEI Discrimination in Hiring Practices Texas Roadhouse did not publicly comment. As of mid-2026, the complaint remains pending with the EEOC with no reported action.14America First Legal. America First Legal Files Federal Civil Rights Complaint Against Texas Roadhouse
In early 2025, the New Jersey firm Trief and Olk announced an investigation into allegedly deceptive menu descriptions at Texas Roadhouse and said it was seeking consumers for a proposed class action. The firm claimed the chain fails to adequately disclose the “true nature and ingredients” of items including grilled shrimp, grilled salmon, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, buttered corn, and its signature fresh-baked bread. No named plaintiff or specific court filing had been reported, and the company had not publicly responded.15SeafoodSource. Law Firm Proposing Class Action Suit Against Texas Roadhouse Claiming Menu Is Misleading
A pending Montana lawsuit involves the chain indirectly. In GK Holiday Village v. Ross Dress for Less, the owner of a Great Falls mall sued its tenant Ross, alleging Ross unreasonably withheld consent for a Texas Roadhouse to occupy a free-standing site on the property. The mall and Texas Roadhouse had negotiated a ground lease in June 2022, but Ross objected. Mediation failed, the mall sued in May 2023 and terminated Ross’s lease, and a jury trial is set for December 1, 2026. Texas Roadhouse itself said in June 2024 that it has “no plans in Great Falls at this time.”16The Electric. Mall Lawsuit Over Texas Roadhouse Set for 2026