Sarah Tressler, Stripper-Journalist, Claims Her Firing Was Gender Discrimination
Maybe Sarah Tressler was listening when we told her to come back to L.A. -- a stripping journalist would fit right in at the alt-lifestyle rag called LA Weekly.
Sarah!
The former LA CityBeat intern was back in town today to stand with her attorney, Gloria Allred, and announce a federal discrimination claim against the Houston Chronicle for firing her after they found out about her racy moonlighting gig.
Here are the deets:
In places like Texas and California employers can pretty much fire you for any reason. But they can't discriminate.
Here's what Allred alleges, via statement:
More journalists should wear thigh-highs.
Most exotic dancers are female, and therefore to terminate an employee because they had previously been an exotic dancer would have an adverse impact on women, since it is a female dominated occupation. Terminations like this would also discourage women from trying to improve their lives.
Allred says Tressler, now 30, started dancing at 22 to make ends meet and kept doing it occasionally, as an independent contractor.
Tressler filed a gender discrimination claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and asked it to investigate the Chronicle.
She says:
I don't believe that I should have been terminated because of a claim that I did not disclose on my employment application that I worked as an exotic dancer. There was no question on the form that covered my dancing. I answered the questions on the form honestlyI feel that women should not be denied other employment because they have worked as exotic dancers
We stand with you in support of dancers' rights.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
