Beloved eatery Cracker Barrel hit with complaints over discriminatory DEI practices

A conservative legal group has filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Tennessee Attorney General alleging that the beloved eatery’s DEI policies are in violation of federal and state civil rights laws.

America First Legal (AFL) called for Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., to be investigated for continuing to promote discriminatory hiring and reward practices after it seemed to bow to the changing social and political environment by making cosmetic changes.

“America First Legal (AFL) has formally requested that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti investigate Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Cracker Barrel) for potential violations of federal and state civil rights laws stemming from its discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies,” AFL states in a press release.

Trump-aligned America First Legal files complaints with federal government and state of Tennessee alleging Cracker Barrel’s diversity policies discriminate against white male, heterosexual employees. https://t.co/QUqqJP50km

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) July 21, 2025

“Cracker Barrel rebranded its dedicated DEI website last year from ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ to ‘Culture and Inclusion,’ yet continues to promote the company’s apparently unlawful commitments to provide 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,” the statement reads.

The group’s complaints reference public documents, internal reports, and Cracker Barrel’s own corporate language to make the case that the company discriminates against straight white male employees.

“Americans are fed up with major American corporations serving up DEI as if it is entirely okay. Treating people differently because of the color of their skin or their sex is not only wrong, it is illegal,” said AFL legal counsel Will Scolinos.

“AFL has fought DEI since the Biden Administration spent four years celebrating and encouraging its wholesale implementation across the country. Now, companies are retreating from the term ‘DEI’ but retaining their discriminatory policies. Cracker Barrel and other American corporations must take discrimination by any name off the menu once and for all,” Scolinos added.

America First Legal notes that the company pledges to “attract, select, develop, and retain high-performing talent with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.” That it tracks employee demographics by race and gender in its 2024 ESG report, and the “commitments have led to a more ‘diverse’ workforce from FY 2022 to FY 2024 across Cracker Barrel’s professional staff, store-level management, and hourly staff.”

The company also has Business Resource Groups (BRGs) that it claims are to “support the development of diverse team members,” yet AFL points out that some BRGs are discriminatory, listing several examples.

Cracker Barrel’s “Be Bold” BRG seeks to “cultivate and develop black Leaders within the Cracker Barrel organization.”

The company’s “HOLA” BRG says it “[p]rovides opportunities to our Latino team members” and “promote[s] Hispanic and Latino culture through hiring, developing, and retaining talent within Cracker Barrel.”

It’s  “LGBTQ+ Alliance BRG “[p]rovides a space for LGBTQ+ people to meet and support each other while increasing LGBTQ+ awareness at Cracker Barrel.”

And the “Women’s Connect” BRG states that it has a mission to “inspire the women of Cracker Barrel by empowering, educating, and engaging to achieve the strategic initiatives of Cracker Barrel.” Cracker Barrel also describes that this BRG “[h]elps women on our team find connections and grow their careers.”

“Even if any employee may technically join a BRG, certain associated benefits appear to be restricted to specific identity groups,” AFL notes.

There were no examples of BRGs for heterosexual white males, a demographic that has been the victim of institutionalized discrimination throughout Corporate America in the DEI era that exploded in the aftermath of violent 2020 race riots following the death of career criminal and drug addict George Floyd.

AFL references the company’s 2024 shareholder Proxy Statement that admits the pursuit of “diversity,” considers race and sex, and that Cracker Barrel’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee “considers, among other things . . . diversity of age, gender, race and ethnic background” in the evaluation of candidates for the Board of Directors.

“Cracker Barrel is almost as American as apple pie. Their store is full of classic Americana items, and it brands itself as a bastion of southern hospitality. If Cracker Barrel is discriminating against its employees and trying to hide it, it is failing to live up to its own brand and internal standards,” AFL Senior Counsel Nicholas Barry said in a statement.

“The government should vigorously enforce its civil rights laws and ensure any such discrimination is rooted out and destroyed,” Barry added.