NJ Woman Says She Was Fired For Being Too Busty

[pixy0stix]

gma.yahoo.com/jersey-woman-she-fired-being-too-busty-015114881--abc-news-topstories.html



A New Jersey woman says she was fired from her job after her manager told her to "tape her breasts" down, and now has filed suit against the company claiming religious and sexual discrimination.

Former data entry worker Lauren Odes said that after two days with Native Intimates, a midtown Manhattan wholesale lingerie company, a supervisor told her the store owners were not happy with her outfit, suggesting it was too "distracting."

"When I first started working there, I asked what the dress code was, and I was just told to look around and see what everyone else was wearing," Odes said in a press conference Monday. "So I did. The dress was very casual athletic wear to business attire."

Odes said the company owners are Orthodox Jews who were offended by her attire.

At a news conference announcing the suit, she said that at first she compromised, saying she'd wear a gray T-shirt and black jeggings with rain boots to work, but that wasn't enough.

"When my supervisors suggested that I tape down my breasts, I asked 'Are you kidding me?'" Odes said. "The supervisor said, 'Just cover up a little more.'"

The female supervisor then walked over to a closet, pulled out a bright red bathrobe decorated with pictures of guitars, and told Odes to put it on, she said.

"She told me to sit at my desk and wear it all day. I felt completely humiliated," Odes said. "She put the bathrobe on me and tied the belt and I returned to my desk wearing it."

Her supervisor then gave her the option of to go out and buy a sweater that "went to her ankles" instead of wearing the bathrobe, she said. After being ridiculed and made fun of by co-workers, Odes said, she obliged.

"I sat in the bathroom for a while crying. I'd prefer to go out and buy a sweater rather than sit there in the bathrobe feeling humiliated," Odes said.

But while she was out shopping for the sweater, the 29-year-old got a phone call saying she'd been terminated, she said.

Now, attorney Gloria Allred has filed suit against Native Intimates with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"The treatment was discriminatory, profoundly humiliating and unlawful," Allred said.

This isn't the first time Allred has represented a client for allegedly being fired for what she was wearing.

Two years ago, she represented Debrahlee Lorenzana, a Queens, N.Y., woman who sued former bosses Citibank for banning her "sexy outfits and heels." Citibank ended up settling with Lorenzana.

Odes, who said she is also Jewish, said no employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on employees.

"I do not feel an employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me when I'm working in a business that's not a synagogue, but sells things with hearts on the female genitals and boy shorts for women that say hot in the buttocks area," she said.

[ttt]

Seriously? At a lingerie store??

[wawa]

May 22, 2012 9:15:21 GMT -5 ttt said:

Seriously? At a lingerie store??

I think it was actually a lingerie warehouse. They said it was a wholesaler - so they're probably doing ordering shipping and sorting for sale to stores.

[ttt]

May 22, 2012 9:16:36 GMT -5 wawa said:

May 22, 2012 9:15:21 GMT -5 ttt said:

Seriously? At a lingerie store??

I think it was actually a lingerie warehouse. They said it was a wholesaler - so they're probably doing ordering shipping and sorting for sale to stores.

Regardless. You sell sexy clothing and you are complaining that someone's office attire goes against your religion?

[pixy0stix]

I want to know why there was a bathrobe at work.

[meshaliuknits]

May 22, 2012 9:24:21 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I want to know why there was a bathrobe at work.

Me too.

[wawa]

May 22, 2012 9:22:44 GMT -5 ttt said:

May 22, 2012 9:16:36 GMT -5 wawa said:

I think it was actually a lingerie warehouse. They said it was a wholesaler - so they're probably doing ordering shipping and sorting for sale to stores.

Regardless. You sell sexy clothing and you are complaining that someone's office attire goes against your religion?

Oh, totally agreed! Just clarifying since if she was on a retail floor the rainboots and t-shirt getup she offered to wear would be just as unacceptable as something boobalicious.

And the bathrobe would be eveen weirder. (still...really weird. WHY was there a bathrobe in the closet?)

[ringstrue]

So the Orthodox Jews own a lingerie company?

[Deleted]

I know it's not fair but the minute I see Gloria Allred standing beside you, I assume you are a lying liar who lies out of her lying lie hole.

I wonder if Gloria realizes that's who she's become.

[ttt]

Anyone else think she looks like Charlize Theron's ugly sister?

[Deleted]

i would presume a lingerie wholesaler has robes laying around.

in any event, were she represented by anyone other than gloria allred, i might be inclined to dig deeper and care more.

and i don't know of any prohibition in judaism that prevents orthodox jews from WEARING lingere under their (appropriate) clothing.

and i have a "gray t-shirt" that's low cut enough that i don't wear it around my ILs. you can make any clothing description sound innocent.

like below: look, it's a simple wrap dress and office-appropriate heel:

[noonecareswhoiam]

May 22, 2012 9:37:33 GMT -5 cville said:

i would presume a lingere wholesaler has robes laying around.

in any event, were she represented by anyone other than gloria allred, i might be inclined to dig deeper and care more.

and i don't know of any prohibition in judaism that prevents orthodox jews from WEARING lingere under their (appropriate) clothing.

and i have a "gray t-shirt" that's low cut enough that i don't wear it around my ILs. you can make any clothing description sound innocent.

like below: look, it's a simple wrap dress and office-appropriate heel:

Right. But if you look at the photo of her in the robe, you can clearly see the neckline of the offending T-shirt, which isn't overly low. So it would have to be obscenely tight to be seen as inappropriate. As one bib-boobed gal to another, I'm willing to give her the benefit of th doubt, as I'm pretty sure that an Orthodox Jew would look at me in anything other than a shapeless top and deem it obscene.

[Deleted]

you must have a gigantic computer screen, because all i see i some darkness between the robe folds. could be a shadow. could be a t-shirt. could be anything. point is, thanks to gloria allread i just don't give a damn. and thanks to the ability to make anything sound okay, "a gray t-shirt and jeggings" doesn't convince me that she was wearing something that didn't make her look like she was headed out to a bar to get some tail.

i'm sure the employers here were dickish, but she didn't listen on more than on occasion to their instruction. and dickish doesn't mean legally discriminatory.

[charminglife]

I hope she has a witness to her employer telling her to 'tape down her breasts' because THAT is inappropriate regardless of what she was wearing. How does one tape down their breasts, anyway?

[NitaX]

May 22, 2012 10:21:56 GMT -5 charminglife said:

I hope she has a witness to her employer telling her to 'tape down her breasts' because THAT is inappropriate regardless of what she was wearing. How does one tape down their breasts, anyway?

The hell if I know. Duck Tape?

Mr. Dobalina - Here's the thing, according to the article, she did ask what was considered appropriate. She asked, they told her to dress like everyone else. She did that, and it wasn't enough. You can't tell someone to cover up but never tell them what was offensive and inappropriate. Taping down my boobs doesn't qualify as appropriate dress. (I know we agree here.)

[meshaliuknits]

This is why companies have written dress codes.

[eclaires]

They should have offered to pay for her breast reduction!

[marie427]

Oh lordy, not Gloria Allred again.

Anyhoo, I agree that there better damn well have been a witness who heard that outrageous comment if it was said. I don't care about Orthodox Jews or whoever selling lingerie - but I do care about them saying inappropriate things like this to staff.

[Deleted]

So, no one's going to make the obvious Yentl reference?

[miss1991]

May 22, 2012 9:36:25 GMT -5 ttt said:

Anyone else think she looks like Charlize Theron's ugly sister?

LMAO!

She said that they asked her to tape her breast's down? This I don't get. I understand if she was breaking the dress code. I don't know if I totally believe her either though.

[NitaX]

May 22, 2012 11:14:32 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

May 22, 2012 11:06:17 GMT -5 NitaX said:

The hell if I know. Duck Tape?

Mr. Dobalina - Here's the thing, according to the article, she did ask what was considered appropriate. She asked, they told her to dress like everyone else. She did that, and it wasn't enough. You can't tell someone to cover up but never tell them what was offensive and inappropriate. Taping down my boobs doesn't qualify as appropriate dress. (I know we agree here.)

She thinks she was wearing what everyone else was. I find it hard to believe anyone would think jeggings are apporpriate attire your first day on the job, so that is suspect to me.

I also don't see how it is gender or religious discrimination.

If everyone else has on a t-shirt, why is my t-shirt any different? And it depends on what the work was. Anecdote alert - at one job everyone else was wearing jeans on casual day. There was only one other person in my section. I thought since everyone else wore jeans, that I could too. I wore jeans, dressed it up with a button down and was told by my boss that I couldn't wear jeans. Why? Because he didn't want us to do so. No written policy, but I can totally see how if everyone else wore jeggings and a t-shirt then she thought she could too.

Being told to wear a robe, go buy new clothes and then getting fired is over the dayum top.

[pixy0stix]

My other question is, they knew she had boobs when she was hired. Did they expect them to go away?

[laurenpetro]

i am assuming she THINKS she was dressed like everyone else, but in reality was showing more than other people would show if they were dressing "business casual".

and seriously? why are all of these people from NJ? pretty soon i'm just going to tell people i was born in NY and call it a day.

[gpw]

May 22, 2012 9:30:52 GMT -5 @habbsies said:

I know it's not fair but the minute I see Gloria Allred standing beside you, I assume you are a lying liar who lies out of her lying lie hole.

I wonder if Gloria realizes that's who she's become.

sits next to HAB

[WOT?*]

She was a temp. If I was temping I'd be a heckuvalot more circumspect in my attire than showing up in jeans and sheer dresses. As a temp, can't the employer request that she be replaced with another employee who is also qualified and will follow the dress code?

I saw another website when googling "orthodox jew lingerie" to see if I could find pics and one showed this sign with the article:



If this is in fact at or near where she was working and is the expectation of the (Orthodox Jew) employer I don't think that jeans or sheer overlay blouses or tight skirts fit the description of "modest." Methinks she is slightly delusional in her idea of "office appropriate attire."

[NitaX]

May 22, 2012 13:44:31 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

May 22, 2012 11:33:57 GMT -5 NitaX said:

If everyone else has on a t-shirt, why is my t-shirt any different? And it depends on what the work was. Anecdote alert - at one job everyone else was wearing jeans on casual day. There was only one other person in my section. I thought since everyone else wore jeans, that I could too. I wore jeans, dressed it up with a button down and was told by my boss that I couldn't wear jeans. Why? Because he didn't want us to do so. No written policy, but I can totally see how if everyone else wore jeggings and a t-shirt then she thought she could too.

Being told to wear a robe, go buy new clothes and then getting fired is over the dayum top.

If you were told there was a problem, you'd probably go a bit more conservative on your second attempt, though, right?

Also, she's on a website, Reality Wanted, that helps aspiring reality show cast members find work.

abovethelaw.com/2012/05/lawsuit-of-the-day-yet-another-woman-claims-she-was-fired-for-being-too-hot/

So, she's not the most credible and no matter how "over the top" the employers were, I haven't heard anything that is gender or religious discrimination. Being an over the top employer isn't against the law.

Honestly, this line of logic pisses me off. I don't care if she sucked dick and swallowed for her part-time after hours job, if she's told to tape down her dayum breasts, then that's a problem. Irrespective of her quest for reality tv fame, tape down her breasts? Really? Really?

I have big breasts. Right now, as I'm nursing these shits are hanging out in a 34G bra. A plain t-shirt is going to draw attention. So unless I'm wearing a shapeless azz mumu or a burqua, then mofos gone stare at my breasts.

To just brush off her story because you don't like Allred or that she seems to be a trollop is ri-dayum-diculous.

Now, if you say, well does she have a picture of what she was wearing? Then fine. But, well that bitch ain't credible 'cuz she's a reality tv wanna be is asinine. Yep, I said it.

[Deleted]

Meh, I have tig ole biddies and I'm telling you, while you can't make them go away, you absolutely can wear things that make them look ridiculous and inappropriate for work.

If we're fighting, we're fighting but I'm holding to that.

That being said, if they told her to tape them down, she should be suing and deserves every penny she can get.

[WOT?*]

May 22, 2012 14:04:42 GMT -5 toledo said:

May 22, 2012 13:50:38 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

She was a temp. If I was temping I'd be a heckuvalot more circumspect in my attire than showing up in jeans and sheer dresses. As a temp, can't the employer request that she be replaced with another employee who is also qualified and will follow the dress code?

I saw another website when googling "orthodox jew lingerie" to see if I could find pics and one showed this sign with the article:

If this is in fact at or near where she was working and is the expectation of the (Orthodox Jew) employer I don't think that jeans or sheer overlay blouses or tight skirts fit the description of "modest." Methinks she is slightly delusional in her idea of "office appropriate attire."

Do Orthodox Jews have a legal exemption that allows them to tell an employee to tape her breasts down?

If someone did actually say that. (Although maybe it did happen; it's quite possible that she (the owner) said something in or out of context re making them not quite so "visible" to the men or more supported/less "jiggly" in the workplace. I'm saying this with an eye to what she's currently wearing as "workplace appropriate" vs. what would be appropriate in an Orthodox environment.

Women used to use cloths or bandages (ace type) to wrap their breasts back in the day, btw.

[Deleted]

Are you seriously telling me you don't think it's illegal or gender discrimination to fire a woman for not taping her tits down??

Because that's some bullshit I can't get behind.

[NitaX]

May 22, 2012 15:25:46 GMT -5 @habbsies said:

Meh, I have tig ole biddies and I'm telling you, while you can't make them go away, you absolutely can wear things that make them look ridiculous and inappropriate for work.

If we're fighting, we're fighting but I'm holding to that.

That being said, if they told her to tape them down, she should be suing and deserves every penny she can get.

I don't have an issue with appropriate dress, BUT, even with things that look appropriate, folks will stare. Trust, I see shit all day long that people have no dang business wearing, but I assume they don't know any better.

Problem with this employer:
1. No written dress code policy. Have one. It protects you in cases like this.
2. When asked what she could wear, employer said dress like everyone else. She was like ooookkkk. Well, I don't have a suit but I can wear this.
3. When told to dress differently, she was still singled out when dressed in a t-shirt. She says it was plain, but we will need a picture to verify.
And the straw that broke the camel's back
4. Tape down yo' breasts.
WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK???

#4 is my outrage. Don't blow her shit off because Gloria gets on your nerves or she wants to be in reality tv.