East Lansing video game arcade Pinball Pete’s describes itself as “an easy-going, inclusive environment where retro vibes meet genuine hospitality,” according to its website.
However, a local woman alleges that when it comes to hiring, the business — a fixture in the community since 1977 — is anything but inclusive.
East Lansing resident Melissa Rill, 46, accused Pinball Pete’s of sex-based discrimination after she inquired about a closing shift position in April 2024.
The lawsuit states that Pinball Pete’s hiring manager Jeffrey Piotter turned Rill down on the spot specifically because she was a “petite” woman, refusing to even hand her a job application.
Allegedly, Piotter admitted, “I’m skirting the law a little here” before explaining that he only hires males for this position, citing concerns about security and safety.
According to the lawsuit, Rill explained that she had experience working at a bank and owning a shop in East Lansing and was not concerned about safety. But Piotter allegedly repeatedly referenced Rill’s sex as why he could not even consider her for the role, at one point saying he didn’t “want to be woken up at 2 a.m. with someone calling me, crying their eyes out” if something went wrong. He also made numerous comments about her size in a way that made her uncomfortable, the lawsuit states, before allegedly suggesting her husband and 18-year-old son apply and turning his back on her.
Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sex, as well as other protected characteristics including religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
In federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also prohibits employers from discriminating in hiring, firing, or promotion based on sex.
According to the lawsuit, Rill filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights on May 6, 2024, before seeking legal recourse.
The lawsuit was filed last month by attorney Tad T. Roumayah of Southfield law firm Sommers Schwartz, P.C., who says the complaint is a clear example of what these laws were designed to prevent.
“You’re not allowed to stereotype what someone is capable of just based on their protected characteristics,” Roumayah, who specializes in workers’ rights, tells Metro Times.
“In this case, it’s stereotyping of what a woman or what someone who may be of a certain gender — like, ‘Well, I just know for a fact she’s not going to be able to do a good job without even giving her the opportunity to try to do it,’” he adds.
While some jobs can be hired based on sex, like seeking a man to work as an attendant in a men’s locker room, or hiring a female actor to play a female character, that was not the case here, Roumayah says.
“The fact is she was just told that because she’s a woman, she’s not able to be up to snuff or up to the job, up to the task at hand, even though she was eminently qualified,” Roumayah says. “That was really just saying the quiet part out loud of what society or certain elements of society believe, what a certain type of gender is capable or incapable of, which really just impacted her just self-worth.”
The lawsuit was filed in Ingham County Circuit Court against 3TM, Inc., which does business as Pinball Pete’s. It seeks damages on behalf of Rill, including lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, and harm to professional reputation.
“She was very understandably upset and harmed by this,” Roumayah says. “She was just trying to obtain a position so that she could earn money and she has bills to pay, like we all do.”
Reached via email, a representative from Pinball Pete’s declined to comment.
Roumayah says the case is a reminder to both workers and employers about civil rights and laws for hiring practices.
“Look, you may have your own prejudices, or stereotypes, or what have you, in your mind,” he says. “That doesn’t mean that you can act upon those, and not provide opportunities or to terminate individuals because they have certain characteristics that are protected by law that you can’t discriminate against.”
He adds, “I think for Mrs. Rill, she wants to just make it clear or help, show kind of other employees and also other employers that this is not allowable conduct in our communities.”