EAST LANSING — The owners of Pinball Pete’s deny claims that a manager at the arcade refused to give a job application to a woman because of her gender or because she was petite.
East Lansing resident Melissa Rill, 46, filed a lawsuit in February against 3TM Inc., doing business as Pinball Pete’s, claiming she was unable to get an application for a position after a hiring manager commented that she was a woman had a small body size.
Pinball Pete’s owners said the manager never referenced Rill’s body size when she asked for a job application and her gender had nothing to do with why she wasn’t given the application.
Rill’s lawsuit claims in May of 2024 Pinball Pete’s hiring manager, Jeffrey Piotter, refused to allow her to apply for a closing-shift position at the business, located off Albert Avenue near Michigan State University’s campus. Piotter is accused of making several comments about Rill’s petite body size. She was discriminated against based on her gender, a violation of state law and the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, according to her complaint.
Pinball Pete’s responded to the suit on May 19 in Ingham County Circuit Court, arguing the manager didn’t provide Rill with an application because he didn’t have one to provide her at the time. The business claimed it did not violate her civil rights and claimed her lawsuit is “frivolous.”
Tad Roumayah, an attorney representing Rill, said the response doesn’t change Rill’s position that she was discriminated against.
“Defendants often deny allegations at this stage so there’s nothing surprising about that,” he said. “We remain confident in our client’s claims and we look forward to presenting her case in court.”
Messages left on Tuesday morning with Lansing-based attorney Thomas Tupper, who is representing 3TM Inc., weren’t returned.
‘I wouldn’t let my daughter close this place up’
Piotter told Rill, according to the lawsuit, “Now, I’m skirting the law a little here, but honestly, I wouldn’t let my daughter close this place up. These are drunk men, and you don’t know what’s out there or what they’d do to you. I typically hire guys for evening/night positions.”
Pinball Pete’s owners admitted in their court filing that Piotter told Rill, “I wouldn’t let my daughter close this place up,” when she spoke to him about the late-night shift.
But the company denied that Rill was told, “I typically hire guys for evening/night positions” or that he only hires “males for this position.”
Rill was “advised that anyone can apply” for a job there, according to the response.
The court filing acknowledges that Rill requested an application but that she “was not given an application because (the business) did not have any blank applications at the time.”
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Owners ask that lawsuit be dismissed
In March, Roumayah said Piotter’s unwillingness to let her apply for the open position was a “blatant” violation of her civil rights.
“Michigan law plainly prohibits employers from refusing to hire someone because of their gender,” he said. “Pinball Pete’s stated position that it only hires men for the closing shift position is direct evidence of unlawful discrimination. Our client was qualified for the position and denied the job solely because she is a woman, in direct violation of her civil rights. We intend to hold the company accountable and to send a message that discriminatory hiring practices have no place in our communities.”
The owners of Pinball Pete’s said they didn’t violate Rill’s civil rights and that the lawsuit “failed to state a claim” against them.
They asked Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina to dismiss Rill’s lawsuit “with prejudice” and that 3TM, Inc. be awarded “its costs and reasonable attorney fees so wrongfully incurred.”
No trial date has been set, according to court records.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Pinball Pete’s denies claim it refused job application for petite woman
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
