Ex-Panera manager settles bias claim

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

A former manager at a Panera Bread restaurant in western Pennsylvania has settled his federal discrimination claim against the franchise owner.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday that U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry ordered the case closed, based on a court-appointed mediator’s report. No details of the settlement were released.

Scott Donatelli had claimed in the lawsuit that Covelli Enterprises of Warren, Ohio, fired him in part because he refused to relegate minority employees to jobs that kept them out of public view.

The newspaper reported that two other former employees also filed discrimination lawsuits against Covelli, which has denied all the allegations.

Covelli spokesman Allen Ryan didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Covelli operates nearly 200 Panera caf s in four states and has stores in Austintown, Boardman Canfield, Niles and Hermitage, Pa.