Scott-Allen, 28, was hired at Per Se in 2011 as a kitchen server who plated food. She was promoted through the ranks until she was named a “captain” or head waiter at the restaurant, where set menus start at $355 per person and she earned a six-digit salary.
According to the lawsuit, she visited the French Laundry in January 2016 during a vacation to California with her husband and told General Manager Michael Minnillo they were considering a move out West. Minnillo told her the French Laundry “would love” to have her work there, the lawsuit says.
Scott-Allen returned to New York and hammered out details of moving to the California restaurant, eventually filling out the company’s internal transfer form in February 2016 and agreeing to start her new position that April, the lawsuit says.
In the interim, she learned she was pregnant and informed her bosses, who discussed it on company email.
“Apparently she is pregnant,” Minnillo wrote in a March 1, 2016, email to the company’s head of human resources, cited in court filings. “She never mentioned this to me. I am confused how to proceed.”
“Well, unfortunately not much we can do,” Julie Secviar, head of HR for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, replied in an email, cited in court filings. “What was committed verbally or in writing?”
Scott-Allen’s lawsuit alleges that Secviar and Minnillo devised a plan to get rid of her by setting up a “sham interview” that would result in her being declared “not the right fit” for the French Laundry. Minnard said Minnillo admitted to the plan during a deposition. Minnillo and the two restaurants are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
On March 7, 2016, Scott-Allen was asked to sign a “Notice of Resignation” that management told her was a standard part of the transfer process, but her attorney says was a way to “dupe her into quitting.” As a result of resigning, Scott-Allen lost her health insurance and was unable to see doctors for first-trimester check-ups, the lawsuit says.
On March 10, Scott-Allen’s last day of work at Per Se, the restaurant’s internal bulletin published a picture of Keller hugging Scott-Allen with a message: “Thank you Vanessa! May your warmth, grace and impact shine just as brightly at TFL (the French Laundry) as it has here.”
In early April, she went to meet French Laundry managers and was asked about her pregnancy, including if she felt she could do her job while pregnant, how much leave she planned to take and when she expected to stop working, the lawsuit says.
Within a week, Minnillo told her “there is no position for you” and that he never intended to hire her. In a formal letter April 12, 2016, Minnillo and Secviar told her they were unable to offer her a job.
