Too Sexy for This Shirt? Too Sexy for This Job?
By TOM LLAMAS
For NBC New York
It’s not a crime to be beautiful or dress well, but if you ask 33-year-old Debrahlee Lorenzana they both can cost you your job.
“They pulled me aside and said I could not wear pencil skirts, turtlenecks, I cannot wear business suits that were fitted. Basically they said it drew too much attention,” says Lorenzana.
The single mom used to work for Citibank as a business banker at their branch inside the Chrysler building. She says her outfits for work were deemed “too distracting” by her male managers. They allegedly pointed to her rear and said her pants were too tight.
“Very uncomfortable,” is how Lorenzana describes those confrontations.
She says when she complained to human resources, her managers retaliated. According to her lawsuit Citibank gave her targets she could not meet because she was not properly trained. Citibank cited her work performance as a reason for termination. Left without a job Lorenzana struggled to pay the bills
“It was very hard,” says Lorenzana who fought back tears when describing a recent Christmas she celebrated with her son with no presents.
Her lawyer Jack Tuckner says at its base this case is about gender discrimination.
“It was about her being too good looking for us to bother to contain ourselves. So that’s shirt’s gotta go,” says Tuckner hypothesizing what Lorenzana’s managers thought about her clothes. “Why should we have to deal with what a babe you are? Fix it.”
In a prepared statement Citibank tells NBCNewYork:
“We believe this lawsuit is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously. We do not condone or tolerate discrimination within our business for any reason.”
Citibank also points out that all workers who face employees are given dress guidelines.
When Lorenzana was hired she signed a contract which prevents her from directly suing Citibank. So an arbitration hearin will be held. It could be months if not years before a decision is made. She is seeking future earnings, back pay, and damages for mental and emotional distress.
Tuckner says if the roles were reversed it would be very difficult to see a man being asked to changed his wardrobe for dressing and looking well in his opinion.
“Maybe they were uncomfortable with her because they didn’t feel like they could not hit on her over long periods of time. So instead they wanted her to wear a tent or a Burka,” says Tuckner.
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Hi
I have lived in the USA for 5 years now.
I started working for a big Military contractor on 04/20/2006.
I may not have a family here, but nobody has the right to abuse me.
I do not understand the culture but I am 100% sure I was a victim of huge long and disgusting sexual harassment torture for 4 years.
I after 4 years and 2 months Spoke out and told the boss of my boss that I could not handle anymore my boss attention and that I was exhausted and tired of all this touching and hugging.
I got fired after one months on 07/09/2010.
Everybody in the new office where I got transferred in April knew the way i felt each time my boss would come to visit me.
I wanted to die.
I felt like vomiting each time I saw my boss.
I would invent excuse so that my boss would not touch me.
I would say that I was sick that I was not feeling well or that I was upsent and so on.
Nothing worked.
on April 9th 2010 (I believe)
One of my boss best friends was a witness in my cubicle as this person heard me many time saying that I DID NOT WANT TO BE HUGGED once and for all.
That day my boss asked my other colleague to hug me and asked me to let her hugging me.
I said ” no I do not want nobody to hug me”
My boss just would not leave me alone not even wafter this accident in April 2010 not even in the new location.
That month wrongly I started breathing again and start smelling my freedon again.
I thought this meant I was free from the advance and touches AND SEXUAL HINTS AND CONTINUOS PRESENTS, BUT I WAS WRONG.
I realized that I would never be free and I would be my boss victim forever.
on 06/08/2010 after a huge accident in my office and after I tried to keep my boss away and asked My boss again and again and again not to touch me, I drove wih my fiancee to the GMO and spoke to my boss’s boss.
I have more witnesses but I still got fired.
My boss was a female and I cannot find a lawyer who has the guts to help me fight this injustice.
I have done nothing WRONG in all this just tried to work under harassment for 4 years and 3 months. I was dead during all these years. I stop talking to ALL MY COLLEAGUES I KEPT AWAY FROM ALL and STAYED IN MY CUBICLE ALONE. I WANTED TO DISAPPEAR.
I now have NO JOB for something I DID NO DO.
PLEASE HELP ME GETTING JUSTICE, I and My 6 dogs that only family I have here need advise and help
DISPERATE FOREIGNER with no help and no hope
PLEASE HELP ME.
I am at the end of my rope.