Judge says Cracker Barrel suit should not be class-action

ATLANTA - A federal magistrate has recommended that class-action status be denied in a lawsuit filed against Cracker Barrel by some its own employees. <br> <br> The black employees who filed the suit say they were segregated from white workers and generally received assignments such as cook and dishwasher. <br> <br> The decision, entered Thursday in U.S. District Court in Rome, is another setback for workers who filed several lawsuits against the Lebanon, Tennessee-based restaurant chain. <br> <br> Last October, a federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled that a separate discrimination suit against the company could not include an additional 40 plaintiffs and the NAACP. The would-be plaintiffs claimed that black customers were subjected to racial slurs and served food taken from the trash. <br> <br> Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Incorporated, operates 466 restaurants in 41 states. It applauded the decision and said there&#39;s no evidence of a pattern of discrimination.<br> <br> A lawyer for the plaintiffs -- Grant Morris -- says the decision is only a recommendation and must be approved by the presiding judge in the case.