A journalist of an American newspaper was sacked in March after a rival paper broke the story that she had a second job as a stripper, according to The Independent.
30-year-old Sarah Tressler, from Houston, was called into her editor’s office and summarily dismissed by The Houston Chronicle.
In May, Tressler sued the paper for unfair dismissal and discrimination, as terminating an employees’ employment for stripping in their free time is discriminatory because most strippers are female, according to her lawyer.
Ms Tressler says the official reason for her dismissal is that she didn’t list her other employment on her job application, however the Chronicle is understood to also be of the opinion that the job discredited her as a journalist.
Tressler argues that doesn’t make sense as strippers are independent contractors in Houston, not employees.
In two weeks Ms Tressler is launching her memoirs, “Diary of an Angry Stripper”, and is planning a “coast to coast” stripping tour which she hopes will bring more attention to her lawsuit.
She told the Las Vegas Review Journal that she began stripping to keep fit and pay off student loans, but money earned also helped pay for the expensive fashion accessories required in her role as society reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
It certainly seems like discrimination is a bit of a stretch, however it will be quite difficult for her former employer to prove that stripping did adversely affect her credibility.
Bringing a company into disrepute is considered a dismissible offence; however that is normally for more serious offences.
While employment law does appear to be considerably stricter here in the UK, it is very doubtful that an employer would get away with dismissing someone simply because they moonlight in what is an entirely legal profession, however if the activities cause conflict in the workplace it may be considered a reasonable dismissal.
No doubt there will be people on both sides of the pond who are watching this case and awaiting the outcome with interest.
Original story:
Related article:
