Grilling up Homophobia and Racial Discrimination at Golden Corral?

So much for southern hospitality.  The Miami New Times has a shockingly disturbing report of a lawsuit that's been filed by a former Golden Corral employee, detailing extensive homophobic harassment by his coworkers and blind ignorance by management.  The former employee filing the suit, James Grayson, was eventually fired by the company (despite being promoted at one point during his time there) for speaking out about the threats he faced.

Golden Corral, for folks who might not know, falls into the category of "buffet place where you can essentially gorge yourself on sweet tea, ham, fried chicken, cornbread and essentially any food that lends itself to a line buffet" type of restaurant.  Think Old Country Buffet steeped in southern culture.  Of course, if the details of Grayson's suit are true, you can also associate homophobia and anti-LGBT harassment, too.

And just what are those details?  Here's how the Miami New Times reports it:

A gay 38-year-old with a thin mustache, Grayson was hired as a line cook at Golden Corral on South Dixie Highway in Homestead (FL). He made ham omelets and bloody steaks at the buffet table for mostly blue-collar families.

Regulars liked his upbeat personality, but -- according to a lawsuit filed last month in Miami-Dade District Court -- the other cooks didn't. They called him "faggot," "sissy," and "batty boy," Caribbean slang for gay. He quietly put up with it. But then he began to feel physically threatened....

In January 2007, as Grayson was frying a steak for a couple of out-of-towners, Courtney Weekes, a Jamaican-born prep chef with a shaved head, became jealous of Grayson's tips. He slammed a butcher knife down on a stainless-steel counter, centimeters from Grayson's fingers. "Get out of my area, faggot!" he growled.

"My heart started racing," Grayson remembers. He reported it to management, but Weekes was not reprimanded. In fact, Grayson claims, management joined in the homo bashing. A week later, a slim manager named Mike Baker told Grayson: "Fuck you, faggot -- I will knock your punk-ass out," according to the suit.

Ah, such pleasantries.  Grayson goes on to say that, after receiving essentially a death threat from a fellow employee, he complained to his senior management.  He was then promptly fired by the company.

Bullshit, right?  Well, if it's true, of course.  The company hasn't really aired its side of the story yet.  But while you may want to give the company the benefit of the doubt, there's another shady element to this story: Golden Corral was sued last month for racial discrimination by an employee in West Virginia, after the employee there alleged that the company did not adequately enforce policies prohibiting race discrimination.

Do two discrimination cases indicate a pattern?  Perhaps, and it certainly isn't helpful that they've come within a month of each other.

As for Grayson, before filing his current suit he also filed a complaint with the Miami-Dade County Equal Opportunity Board.  Customers of his, according to the New Times, lined up to testify on his behalf, and the board found in his favor.  Now let's see if a court of law finds in his favor, as well.