Razzoo's, a Dallas-based Cajun food restaurant chain, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit accusing the company of discriminating against male applicants and employees.

The EEOC said that Razzoo's refused to hire or promote men to the position of bartender in its restaurants.

The agency alleged that Razzoo's management set up and communicated to managers by e-mail a plan for an 80-20 ratio of women to men behind the bar. In the lawsuit, male applicants had alleged that managers told them that Razzoo's wanted mostly "girls" behind the bar.

"Some may think that sex sells drinks, but gender ratios are illegal," says Suzanne M. Anderson, EEOC supervisory trial attorney and lead counsel on the lawsuit. "Razzoo's decision to hire and promote by gender is a clear violation of federal law. A hiring ratio is illegal whether it is 80-20 whites to blacks or 80-20 women to men."

Razzoo's agreed to pay $775,000 to be divided among a class of male applicants, male servers, and male bartenders. Razzoo's also agreed to retain the services of a human resources consultant or to develop an in-house human resources department. The decree required that Razzoo's would spend no less than $225,000 for these human resources services.

The company continues to deny the allegations.