After the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission closes their case against Bowlero for discrimination, several former employees plan on filing discrimination suits against him according to their lawyer.

Bowlero denies all claims against it of age discrimination or retaliation from former employees that claim they were fired on these grounds and intends to sue its United States headquarters over it. Company A went public via an SPAC in late 2021 and quickly emerged as one of several successful stocks to come from this period of rapid SPAC development. As of July — which was the latest available data — they owned two of the top bowling brands — AMF and Lucky Strike — as well as over 300 bowling centers across North America. Bowlero experienced significant revenue growth between 2021-2023, almost tripling its annual sales revenue from $395 Million to over $1.06 Billion according to company filings. Bowlero stock was down nearly 21% year to date as of Monday’s close, according to its quarterly securities filing and earnings release. On this same day, however, Bowlero announced in its fiscal third-quarter earnings release and quarterly securities filing that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has closed their investigation of Bowlero and will no longer move forward with litigation against it. Bowlero reported in its press release, that it has received positive updates regarding age discrimination claims filed with EEOC over an extended period of time and that, “a number of individual age discrimination charges had received Closure Notices by them”, informing that these individual charges have now been resolved successfully by them. “These notices provide claimants with an individual right to sue. “Bowlero reported receiving letters from EEOC notifying it of its decision not to pursue litigation against Bowllero. One letter from the agency stated that terminating its handling of Bowlero doesn’t clear them of wrongdoing: “By terminating this case’s management, the Commission does not certify [Bowlero] compliance.” “Our decision not to pursue further investigation does not alter any aggrieved individuals’ rights to file private suits against their employer or interfere with future actions brought by or on behalf of the EEOC,” according to their letter of Friday, which read as follows. On Monday afternoon during an earnings call with Wall Street analysts, executives announced that the EEOC investigation had come to a close and would no longer serve as a distraction. “Over eight-and-a-half years, the company has vigorously denied and challenged all false allegations made against it,” CEO Thomas Shannon stated during his opening remarks. “We’re extremely happy to report these extremely positive developments for the benefit of all shareholders.” Asked later about the financial ramifications of an EEOC investigation, Lavan responded that while “there have been millions of dollars that have come through our income statement”, more importantly “it has become an enormous distraction”. “Now we can focus our full efforts on our business and put this behind us,” Lavan noted. Daniel Dowe, an attorney representing multiple claimants in this matter, asserted that it won’t go away entirely; rather it will simply change in form. With respect to former employees’ lawsuits brought individually against their former employers by themselves or collectively by Dowe; according to CNBC reports he intends on filing one large suit on their behalf involving over 70 former workers based on this decision by the EEOC. Dowe plans to seek monetary damages related to this case. According to Bowlero’s securities filings and Dowe, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had found reasonable cause in 58 of 76 complaints filed against Bowlero before concluding its case investigation and closing their file. Dowe stated that employees still pursuing cases against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have the legal right to sue and represent potential plaintiffs that he represents, such as themselves. Bowlero disclosed in their filings that an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined reasonable cause that Bowlero engaged in age discriminatory “pattern or practice,” an indication of systemic issues, since at least 2013. Bowlero denies these findings as well. Bowlero confirmed that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s pattern or practice investigation had also concluded. When finding reasonable cause in an investigation, that means discrimination occurred and typically this happens only occasionally throughout the year; according to EEOC data. Under EEOC procedure, when they find evidence of discrimination between employers and victims, they attempt to resolve it as soon as they discover it, which they explain on their website. If parties cannot come to an agreement on how best to resolve their disagreement, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must decide if and when litigation will commence against an employer based on limited resources; its commissioners then vote. Unfortunately, due to limited resources the EEOC cannot file lawsuit in every instance where discrimination exists – but instead has its commissioners vote before making their final determination on this. CNBC previously reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attempted to settle its disputes with Bowlero for $60 million back in January 2023, however these attempts ultimately fell through last April when CNBC failed to achieve consensus among commissioners as to whether to bring charges. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission declined to provide comment due to confidentiality laws surrounding its processes, while Dowe requested last month for them to close its case so his clients could initiate private legal proceedings themselves and he is “delighted” that now everything is set for action to proceed independently. “Our investigations were extensive and resulted in 58 out of 60 decisions in our favor, so our clients felt it would be best to let the EEOC handle its work,” Dowe stated, noting age discrimination as “one of the worst forms” of discrimination. Discrimination cases typically focus on race and gender differences; but age discrimination cases are just as distressful for victims who may no longer be eligible to go back to college for further training opportunities or face humiliating endings to their careers due to ageism. “[This is a] shameful situation which seems likely to end their lives tragically” He told CNBC he plans to file suit against Bowlero for $80 million plus legal costs, according to its quarterly securities filings. As of March 31st Bowlero had an approximate $212.4 million available cash and cash equivalents as at that date. Dowe told Bowlero earlier that he has until mid-July to file his lawsuit, noting some of its complaints may fall within its statute of limitation and be challenged on this ground. Dowe expressed confidence that his clients will prevail in federal court and that “strong case precedent exists to support their position.In response, Alex Spiro and Hope Skibitsky from Quinn Emanuel expressed satisfaction at the result of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission investigation process.” Bowlero will vigorously oppose any claims filed by its former employees, according to its attorneys, who asserted in previous statements. They vigorously denied these allegations against Bowlero. Last week in Virginia federal court denied Thomas Tanase’s request to countersue Bowlero over allegations of extortion and retaliation; his attorneys previously announced that should his request not be granted, his lawsuit could and likely will be filed as an independent action; Bowlero denies Tanase’s claims while they did not respond promptly when approached for comment.