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Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters
Lauren Odes and her attorney Gloria Allred (R) speak at a news conference in New York, May 21, 2012. Odes is suing her former employer, claiming she was dismissed for dressing too provocatively.
The website for a Manhattan lingerie boutique called Native Intimates has a photograph of a well-endowed woman pushing her breasts together. So, it’s odd that an employee of the shop is claiming she was fired for being “too hot.”
But that’s exactly what Lauren Odes is alleging.
“When I was first told that I was ‘too hot’ and that my breasts were too large I was shocked,” said Odes in a statement released Tuesday. Her sexy appearance, she said, got her a pink slip from an employer who sells intimate apparel much sexier than your basic slips.
Not surprisingly her story is getting a lot of media attention thanks in part to the celebrity lawyer representing her, Gloria Allred, who held a press conference Monday about the allegations. Allred has taken on many high profile and controversial discrimination cases in her day, including the case of a banker who claimed in 2010 she was fired for being too sexy.
In Odes’ case, however, the work environment would seem a bit more conducive to a little cleavage.
Odes began working for Native Intimates on April 24 handling data entry and shipping tasks, but by May 1 she was out of a job. She alleges her supervisors told her that her choice of clothing was disliked by the company’s owner, an Orthodox Jew.
In a statement, Allred said a complaint has been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in New York claiming Odes “was simply fired for being attractive and for not conforming to the religious strictures imposed by top management, apparently for having female body parts, despite having ably performed her professional duties.”
A woman reached by phone at Native Intimates would only say: “We’re not interested in giving a comment.”
A spokeswoman for the EEOC would not comment on the complaint.
Odes is alleging two types of discrimination: one based on gender and another based on religion.
Being too hot is not a protected category under the nation’s labor laws, but being terminated because you’re a woman or for religious bias is a legal no-no.
It’s unclear exactly why Odes was fired, but what is clear is employers have a lot of latitude in restricting what their employees can wear.
“All companies, regardless of whether they’re selling lingerie or whatever, are permitted to have and enforce dress codes that an owner sees as appropriate,” said Keisha-Ann G. Gray, an employment attorney for Proskauer, a law firm that represents employers. “They are permitted to require their employee to dress conservatively,” she noted, if it’s applied equally among workers of different genders, religions, and races.
Odes said she asked about a dress code when she was hired. She said she was told to look around and see what everyone else was wearing. "The dress varied from very casual athletic wear to business dress,” she said.
She also claimed she was wearing “very covered up attire” but it was her body that was the target of her employer’s disdain. She said that at one point a female employee suggested that she consider taping down her breasts.
Women are often held to a double standard at work when it comes to their appearance, said Anne York, associate professor of economics at Meredith College’s School of Business in Raleigh, N.C.
While a supervisor may have thought she might turn off customers, she said, a well-endowed woman would seem like the perfect fit for a lingerie business.
Parking spaces in New York City can be hard to come by, as evidenced by the 12 by 23-foot spot in Greenwich Village currently on sale for a cool million.
Leave a Comment:
Why MSNBC?
Why?
"A woman reached by phone at Native Intimates would only say: “We’re not interested in giving a comment.”
A spokeswoman for the EEOC would not comment on the complaint."
Both obviously much more intelligent than the moron who approved publication of this article... ;)
But....you obviously read it...and commented on it..... so which category do you fall in? The "much more intelligent" .. or "the moron"? ;)
This is just a reason to get Gloria Allreds name and picture in the news. That woman is POS.. that will chase anything for publicity. She'll shake down that company and run off to try and shame someone else.
I read the first paragraph and looked at the picture of her. That was all I can handle because anyone categorizing this woman as too hot is either blind or deprived from internet porn. Large breast do not make you hot, however, fish lips, droopy eyes and man hands do make you ugly.
Amen irish23 I saw her and thought, FUGLY.
I guess this guy must fall into the category of "job creator".
Just the same job over and over.
That Allred bimbo probably payed for the article to be published. This ding bat does about anything for publicity and she does it NOT well.
Get rid of her and clean the world from useless bats like her.
I think she likely got fire for refusing to dress appropriately and Allred is just trying to drum up some BS charges in order to shake don the business for a settlement. There is nothing in the law to prevent you from being fired because the boss does not like the way you dress. This woman is far from what I would call hot, she is a cow with big breasts.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...unfortunately, I don't see it in this case. Too hot? really?
Why MSNBC? I completely agree that it's most likely Gloria Allred has inroads to MSNBC. Remember her parading out Herman Cain's long lost ladies? Gloria made a pretty penny presenting their "traumatic stories" and destroying him. They need her for their salacious stories (typically against conservatives and big businesses) and she needs them for free publicity and traction for settlements.
BTW- I'm also guessing that the conversation in Allred's office went like this: "I lost my job and I'm mad about it." "Don't worry honey, we'll make them pay. Why did they say you are loosing your job." "Well, they said I'm not selling enough nighties." "Why is that?" "I don't know." "Ok, it must have been that your intense beauty scared off 'regular' women. We'll sue them for descrimination."
We all know that "hot" women don't have a problem selling nighties- to men. Maybe 10 years and a few pounds of botox ago she could do that. Not now, no offense.
Any time I see Allred as the attorney of record in a suit recently, the first thing I think of is that the client is only interested in a large fast settlement.
Allred would rather try a case in the Court of Public Opinion, and promise to make and better allegations to blackmail a settlement, than step one foot inside a Court of Law and actually have to present actual evidence.
My God! It looks like she fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.....then the tree fell on her. Jeez, too hot my left n*t.
2wild4U
I really don't understand your comment.
Are you trying to say that just because I read an article, I'm no longer qualified to comment on how stupid and worthless it is???
That is ridiculous.
That is like telling Roger Ebert that he is a "moron" for going to see and reviewing every movie he has ever given a thumbs down to.
If it makes you feel any better, I didn't read the whole article...
An employer can impose a dress code; even an employer that sells things that would violate the code. If that's all there is to this story, there's nothing to this story.
And no, she's nowhere near hot.
Really? The employer said too "hot?" Myself I find big breasted people freakish.
Unless they are on a man ... sexy
There's a guy that works at an autoparts store down the street from me with breast implants.... he has yet to be fired for being too "hot".
+1
She sure doesn't look "Hot" to me. Rather, she's chunky & has "man hands"!
Most likely she was not 'too hot' but 'too sloppy' for this job. Classy joints require classy appearance.
She is what we would call on a bar trolling expedition "A Beast". You would need to chew your arm off the next morning IF you cound find it...........
This is NOT a good picture of her. I saw her on TV, and she is indeed attractive, seductive, and has a great body. She is not a terribly thin woman, she has curves.NOT a good shot of her at all. I wonder if they purposely used this particular shot to stir controversy?
You find big breasted women freakish? Wow....talk about being judgemental
So a big-breasted woman who was born big-breasted is supposed to do what? Get a reduction to please you? You have issues, dude.
So - hold on. If one is hired to work in an office and the other people are mostly dressed in business attire or business casual attire - what makes this lady think she should be showing cleavage? Simply because the retail portion of the business is Lingerie?
She obviously doesn't work in the Lingerie "shop" - she worked in the business office where "Lingerie" wearing was not a part of the dress code.
Also, anyone who looks at her picture and thinks for one second that this chic could be considered "too hot" anywhere except in the cardboard shack under the bridges neighborhood really needs some help! Too hot? Really! She HAS to be making THAT up!
For my size and height, I have larger than average breasts (I am slender and tall, athletic looking) BUT - I do NOT choose to show cleavage at work!! I know how to dress professionally and I've always had a professional job wearing professional clothes in a professional office! I also acted professional though and I was treated in a professional manner. Dressing in lingerie for work is NOT acting professionally and as a female, I would, after warnings fire someone for breaking the dress code in this situation!
Amen to the poster above. Office work attire should be regulated if that is what the boss/owner wants. That being said, the mere fact she has Alred next to her makes her lose ALL credibility. That publicity whore will do anything to get in the news. Funny how you see her at all these original interviews then never again.....
On a brighter note: she's been offered a position at Pigs-R-Us...
men or women?
I don't find them freakish, they're just NOT my cup o'tea, especially when they're on the pudgy side to begin with, that's all.
This woman thinks she's hot? Nope, she is DELUSIONAL.
Sensationalized writing calculated to titillate and stir up the competitive streak in women. Women reading this article will think:
What? I'm waaaay hotter than this b*tch. And my boobs are bigger too.
Now every woman on Newsvine will post on here about how big her boobs are, and how hot she is, but of course they would never stoop to showing off their boobs like this Jezebel.
BTW, did I mention how big my boobs are? Oh, I didn't? Well let me tell you, they're HUGE!
I'm thinking that there's not enough information to go on. It seems she was working in a business atmosphere and not the lingerie shop and so there would be a certain level of professional attire required. If done correctly there should be a paper trail of corrective actions from the employer to discuss her attire. If she failed to pay attention to that constructive criticism then she deserved to be fired. However, my guess in this case is that there is no paper trail, no documentation to support either sides claim, and ms allred is looking to try and fleece some other company(btw..has she ever defended a man?)
An employer can impose a dress code; even an employer that sells things that would violate the code. If that's all there is to this story, there's nothing to this story.
And no, she's nowhere near hot.
"So a big-breasted woman who was born big-breasted"
Must be a real bit** to get a pair of 38DD's down the birth canal.
Let's see some more detailed images b4 passing judgment, please.
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=976&q=Lauren+Odes&gbv=2&oq=Lauren+Odes&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...2648.2648.0.2820.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0.6PUVDj8l3CI#q=Lauren+Odes&hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=e4489ddfd6e06fa7&biw=1472&bih=748
Truth, I did the extremely hard part for you /s. I did a Google Image search.
She's not that hot.
What do you mean "that"?
"She" reminds me a bit of cross-dressers you see here in the SF Bay area.
At least I'm honest. If she were a man I'd say, "At least he looks better as a woman."
she should actually see about becoming the poster shot for Jenny Craig canine, that's not the last thing I'd want to see before drifting off to a good night's sleep
Dare I say Gloria's much "hotter" than miss Thang?
OR:
I wouldn't take her to a dog fight if she was the defendin' champ!
As a woman I may be missing some critical factor but why is it that so many of these self proclaimed "hot" women look more like caractures of the old fashioned inflatable dolls? I am not talking about breast size I mean the whole picture.
How did "...claiming Odes “was simply fired for being attractive and for not conforming to the religious strictures imposed by top management, apparently for having female body parts, despite having ably performed her professional duties.”
Become, "...claiming she was fired for being “too hot.” ?
To me, it sounds as though she was told that to dress differently by her boss and she failed to conform. If I were to walk into my office (a bank), in a tank top, shorts, and a flip-flops, I would also be fired.
She was fired for the ultra-orthodox interpretation of the 14th Commandment: "Thou shalt not be buxom or zaftig whilst selling naughty nighties!"
It was on the tablet that Moses dropped in that Mel Brook's documentary film!
I agree with DLee
She's a tad on the thick side. Hotness notwithstanding.
We call that chunky but not hot.
Big shocker as to who her attorney is - Ms. Media Whore herself *shakes head*
Gloria Allred pops up again. We'll have 6 more weeks of winter.
Yup. Sadly the "victim" will now be completely humiliated within days because her attorney is only about one thing, and it's NOT her clients!
A bleach blonde with hairy looking arms is hot?
She handled data entry and shipping duties. No customers saw her.
I personally think there is some other issue here.
My thought too. End of May to early April - still a probationary time. She probably was not catching on to her job. Now she's playing the "I'm so hot" card. Whatever, hey Ms. I'm so hot, go find another job and leave the courts open for a real case.
Actually you got it backwards it was April 24th to May 1st she worked a whole of 6-7 days. She would not even qualify for unemployment yet which would be my guess as to why she is suing, the whole thing sounds a little fishy and she even contradicts herself in saying she felt clevage was appropriate and yet she dressed covered up-which is it she thought there was no issue with her cleavage or she dressed covered up?
Thank you Becky! I did have it backwards. My point like your was she was not there that long.
I wonder if someone's wife caught someone with his fingers in the wrong cookie jar. Anyone could get fired whether the stated reason was correct or not.
What about the part where a fellow coworker recommended she taped down her breasts. I mean, come on... That's SO inappropriate. As someone who is on the busty side myself, I would be completely offended if someone suggested such a thing.
That comment is according to her and based on what is said in the story there is nothing to support her credibility, who sues an employer after getting fired a week after starting regardless of the reason?
She said a co-worker said that to her. I will believe it when the co-worker goes on record saying 'Yes, I said that to her and it wasn't a joke'.
It's offensive whether it was meant as a joke or not. And while it may be OK for coworkers to kid around, you usually don't joke about a coworker who'd only been there for a week!
Ok, then forget the joke part. I will believe it when the co-worker admits to it, joke or not.
I had women tell me things like that as well. One went so far as to nickname me "boobs". I didn't say anything about it but let's just say that I wasn't too sad when she was fired. Female co-workers joke around about my bust but I just laugh it off, I know that in reality, they are jealous, considering they have in the past said that unlike them, I don't need to rely on a wonderbra to fill in my shirts.
I read about this story on another new source as well. MSNBC left out the parts where she was forced to wear a bathrobe to cover herself while she was wearing a t-shirt. As a big chested girl myself, I know you can be more covered up than flatter girls and still get the comments about showing off "the girls" it is rediculous.
Look it's not about whether she's gorgeous. All I know is that if my employer told me to tape my boobs I'd sue too.....that goes beyond a dress code issue.
Her employer didn't say that. See below:
As has been mentioned before, I believe there is more than meets the eye to this story. I am waiting for the employer's official response.
Go figure. Sue happy America.
rj2029x - Within her first week of employment a coworker was suggested that she tape down her breasts. If you were her, wouldn't you think that your firing was related to your physical attributes?
I have one question - is the co-worker flat as a pancake? Maybe that's why she wanted her to tape them down. There is nothing wrong with a women that is busty and has a little meat on her bones!!!
If a co-worker suggested that she 'tape her breasts' down, I would probably be suing the co-worker for sexual harassment.
I went to school with a girl (in the 9th grade) who had double D's, and she was constantly teased. Thirty-five plus years ago, 'breast reduction' was not on the regular surgical menu. She HATED her breasts. Really sad, that people would bring bodily attributes into question and make a big deal out of them. Sooooooooo immature and dis-respectful. Jealousy is probably at the root of it as well.
Maybe she could become a lawyer. I think the employer might find Gloria Allred "too hot," as well.
Shes fat and disgusting. Arrogance, self-righteous. She looks like a old prostitute.
Wow...
Someone clearly hates women.
Raymond ~~ You sound like a very bitter little man. Why would you pass such judgment on someone you don't know, and have only seen in one snap shot?
BTW, this is a really bad shot of her. I saw her on TV, and she is very attractive, and indeed quite 'naturally' seductive. Some women have to work on that attribute, while others posess it naturally.
Telling on myself-
That was bad but it DID make me laugh LOL
Wow. Raymond, tell us what you really think. What's wrong with you people? So cruel and judgmental about the physical attributes of a person you don't know except for pictures. Maybe you are cross eyed, have a bing honking nose, ears, uni-brow, height challenged, or you do have 32 "A"s. Nobody is perfect but out of some sense of compassion we believe we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. I don't see much compassion in these posts. Just rude, obnoxious, hurtful comments about this woman. None of you know what will be the evidence of this case until it's heard. It's so sad that most of you idiots could be called for jury duty. Scary!!!
Raymond is another victim of tabloid magazines. He does not realize that no one is as thin as they look on those things, every image is photoshopped. Even Playboy, there are touch ups done on most of the images to make them look hotter then they really are.
Bige tits DO NOT make a woman hot, (unless you are a 14 y.o. boy). :-P
They DO NOT have to be BIG..........
They merely have to be THERE.
The second I read this headline I though to myself "cue Gloria Allred". You can imagine how hard I laughed when, after reading a few sentences, I learned that Gloria Allred was already all over it!! She's becoming the joke of the legal community.
I agree Ava, except that she already is the joke of the legal community.
As soon as I seen gloria alred, the credibility of the litigant drops a few notches.
Check the picture... I wouldn't hardly consider that "hot". She might be able to get a job on a hot dog truck in Nassau County, NY.
Jim ~ by the looks of your picture, you could be the cashier of that hot dog truck. Of course, I've only seen the one single shot of you, and it could be that you don't take a good picture. Is that possible?
Ha, the Native Intimates website was crashed by everybody who read this story...
Yup, probably best thing that ever happen to that store
The stores owner just got tired of her bull tit.
Ha ha ha ha , tee hee tee hee tee hee, ho, ho, ho ...........
I liked that one John!
I would think all the comments in this story are one sided. It might just be her looking for money and attention. I'm not sure by what definition she would be described as hot. Cmon, flabby, overweight, no tone, no definition, unathletic.
"..might just be..money and attention."
2 words- "Gloria Allred"
Enough said.
Does anyone know if old Gloria even appears in court to have cases heard by judges, or does she just try to get media attention and then if there's no settlement drop her "client" to look for the next three-ring circus act to march in front of cameras?
Wonder why she doesn't represent "tanning mom" LOL At least Allred would look less surgically altered/facelifted when standing next to someone for a change! Just my opinion...
Moooooooooooooo...
"Provocative" and "hot" are NOT the same things! She's claiming "being too hot" when her ex-employer was simply saying her work attire was too "provocative". Clearly she is trying to redefine the argument to make her ex-employer appear petty when they have every right to require a certain dress-code, regardless of the merchandise they sell.
Thank you for your common sense :-) It's refreshing