Exclusive: Black employees launch lawsuit against Florida IHOP claiming constant racism from a manager

A group of BlackIHOP employees are suing the pancake chain over allegations they endured ceaseless bigotry from a supervisor who allegedly subjected them to “repeated racial slurs, disparaging comments, and an atmosphere of intimidation, ridicule and humiliation,” according to a lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.

In their complaint, servers Margaret Bennett, 45, Stephanie Davis, 51, and Carline Hunter, 49, along with cook Jeffrey Wright, 51, claim shift manager Brenda Bertetchuk rarely missed an opportunity to belittle them while on the job at the IHOP restaurant in Pompano Beach, Florida, where they worked.

In one 2023 incident, when a Black customer returned an overcooked omelet, the 49-year-old Bertetchuk, who is white, commented, “I thought you people liked it burned,” the complaint states. It says Bertetchuk also “routinely directed similar racially offensive comments to… African-American employees when customers returned other overcooked food such as steak or chicken.”

That same year, Bertetchuk allegedly acknowledged several Black servers who showed up to work on Juneteenth, including Bennett, Davis and Hunter, and remarked, “Why [are] you all at work today if it’s the day my people let your people free?”

Bertetchuk reportedly made remarks to Black subordinates about “My people… selling you guys[,] so shut up and do your job,” said she would “bring [them] chicken and watermelons” for Labor Day, and used the N-word to describe a pair of “knickerbocker” shorts Wright was wearing, according to the complaint, which was initially filed last month in Broward County Circuit Court before being removed to Fort Lauderdale federal court on Wednesday.

She also allegedly “wore a hat depicting a monkey while interacting with or in the presence of African-American employees,” and “If it’s not white, then it’s not right,” and insisted staff obey her orders because she was the “master,” the complaint goes on.

“Bertetchuk would make these sorts of racially offensive comments in the presence of African-American employees… while mimicking the sound of a whip cracking,” it contends.

At the same time, Bertetchuk’s behavior toward Wright “became increasingly sexualized,” the complaint continues. On “multiple occasions” throughout 2023 and half of 2024, Bertetchuk allegedly made “repeated comments about… Wright’s ‘big black c**k’ while touching him.”

At least one co-worker at a second location was similarly offensive to Black employees, making comments about “fu**ing [N-words] getting on my nerve[s],” saying he wished he had a gun to shoot a group of Black teens who didn’t pay their bill, and remarking that he “hate[d]” Black people and did not want to serve them, according to the complaint.

The four made “numerous internal complaints” to higher-ups about the alleged discrimination, but instead found themselves even worse off, the complaint states.

It says that after Bertetchuk learned that she had been the focus of the reports, she “purposefully turned off” the kitchen’s air conditioning unit, “thereby creating unsafe, intolerable and excessively hot working conditions.” She then purportedly reduced or cut the Black employees’ hours, effectively terminating them.

The complaint says Bertetchuk’s conduct “would dissuade a reasonable employee from reporting or opposing unlawful race discrimination in the workplace.”

In a brief Friday phone call, Bertetchuk, who is named as a defendant in the suit, told The Independent that she left IHOP about three years ago and is now working elsewhere, but said she remembered Bennett, Davis, Hunter and Wright.

“I’m currently at work right now, so I’m not really in a position to talk,” Bertetchuk said.

IHOP has faced previous claims of racial discrimination, from both employees and customers. In 2024, numerous employees were fired from an IHOP in Texas after a server was accused of refusing to wait on a Black couple.

“When we got to the restaurant, we were told that we were not going to be serviced because of our color,” Keisha Mitchell told CBS News. “It is a shock, and your brain is not processing what you’re hearing.”

Mitchell recorded the incident on video, and posted it on social media, according to reports. At one point in the footage, the restaurant manager attempted to explain away the situation, saying, “One of our morning servers, she’s picky.”

In 2018, staff at an IHOP in Maine underwent retraining after a server allegedly insisted that a group of Black customers pay for their meals in advance.

In response, company president Darren Rebelez issued a statement saying, “IHOP and our franchisees have zero tolerance for actions that are or allude to discrimination of any type. The franchisee of this location is working to contact the affected guests directly to apologize for this incident and are taking appropriate disciplinary actions in line with their HR policies.”

In 2012, four Muslim managers at a group of IHOPs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area sued over claims they were fired for their religious beliefs.

Their suit claimed they were replaced by white, non-Muslim managers, and accused the franchisee of making numerous racist comments about Muslims and people of Arab origin. In one instance, the franchise owner deemed Muslims waiting to break their Ramadan fast as “dogs waiting for their meal,” the lawsuit said.

In the latest Florida case, the four plaintiffs say in their complaint that Bertetchuk’s “unlawful conduct” caused them to suffer “lost wages, lost employment benefits, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, mental anguish, loss of dignity and other compensatory damages.”

It accuses IHOP of being “recklessly indifferent” to the Black workers’ federally protected rights, entitling the group to punitive damages. The four are also demanding attorneys’ fees and court costs.

IHOP and the attorneys defending the chain and franchisee Sunshine Restaurant Merger Sub, LLC did not respond to requests for comment.