New York: A US woman has sued a South Jersey-based maker of frozen treats and other snack foods, claiming that she was wrongfully fired because she wore a prosthetic penis to work.
According to the federal civil-rights complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Scranton, Pauline Davis from north-eastern Pennsylvania wore the device to the J and J Snack Foods plant in Moosic, Lackawanna County, while she contemplated a gender change.
The complaint also added that she had confided in several co-workers about the device, and someone told management, Philadelphia Daily News reported.
The 45-year-old woman was subsequently fired from her job as a packer and line inspector. Davis claims that her termination was discriminatory because a male co-worker who wore female clothing and prostheses and took hormone treatments was not fired nor disciplined.
Further, argued her Bucks County-based attorney, Lalena J. Turchi, that Davis’ fake penis was concealed and “in no way interfered with her ability to do her job.”
Davis filed a complaint in March 2010 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Philadelphia, claiming gender and gender-identity discrimination.
She is seeking back pay, damages for suffering and humiliation, and punitive damages, according to this week’s lawsuit.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 11:58
