Former Employee Presses Charges against Hooters for Discrimination

Sandra Lupo had been employed at Hooters Restaurant in St. Peters since 2005. She worked as a waitress who had a following of loyal customers to pay her way through nursing school. But after she underwent brain surgery, her job was in jeopardy.

In July of last year, doctors found a growth in Lupo’s brain that required operation. For the surgery, Lupo needed to shave her head and afterward, there was a large scar and metal hinges in her skull. Her employers allowed her to work as long as she wore a headscarf.

Lupo obliged, but then her employers changed their minds on the first day back. They then insisted that she wear a wig while working. She found that the wig was interfering with her scar’s healing though, and explained that she could not use one anymore.

When she was first told that a wig would be necessary, her boss explained that if she did not wear one, her shift would be given to someone else. When she returned once more without the wig, despite her reasonable explanation, she was reprimanded and her shifts were cut.

She was steadily losing hours each week to where they eventually scheduled her only once a week. When she would attempt to pick up shifts from other employees, she would be reprimanded and told that that was not allowed. Eventually she had to quit because the job was not supporting her like it had been previously.

The former waitress has filed a discrimination lawsuit to which Hooters has responded with a motion to dismiss. The company denies the accusations, has stated that it never cut her hours, and that it was unhappy that she left the restaurant rather than attempting to work it out.

Lupo now works as a registered nurse and has made a full recovery from her surgery.