Posted on 09/29/2005 5:43:52 AM PDT by Cagey
ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. Sep 28, 2005 — A former nursing home worker has filed a $9 million federal lawsuit against an upstate county, claiming she's suffered mental anguish and needs anti-anxiety medication after being forced to prove she was wearing a bra at work.
Karen Tenney claims in the lawsuit against Essex County that a supervisor at the Horace Nye Nursing Home where she worked placed her hand on the back of Tenney's sweater to feel for a bra clasp.
When a clasp wasn't found, Tenney, a dietary aide, pulled up her sweater to show she was wearing a black sports bra. The move triggered other workers inside the dietary unit to show off the bras they were wearing.
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"I feel that the actions of those involved constitute sexual harassment under federal and state law," Tenney said in court papers. "I have been constructively terminated by the actions of … my employer and (the) failure to stop this harassment."
The undergarment check happened in April after nursing home officials received a complaint that Tenney was not wearing a bra as required by county policy.
Besides Essex County, which is in the Adirondacks, Tenney also names in her lawsuit the nursing home, county Attorney Richard Meyer and the state Civil Service Employees Union.
"We contend the suit is without merit," Meyer said.
I can't imagine a Lunchroom Lady wearing a sports bra. What sport does she participate in? Meatloaf slinging?
LOL! That and the corn dog toss, I guess.
In a nursing home, or a college cafeteria, this would probably be a GOOD thing.
No, just an opportunist who hopes to retire on the taxpayers' money that will settle this suit.
Carolyn
I now need to find a way to erase the visual - this lady was wearing a sports bra - which could compress the lumps out of my gravy - and they could not tell if she had a bra on? Sounds more like soemthing you would see in the Elephant Ear line at a State Fair than a hospital.
Maybe for you but nursing home workers don't need their breasts floundering about while they're moving patients. It's unprofessional for a health care workers, as opposed to a sex worker, to be showing nipple protrusions.
You're kidding right? A bra is *REQUIRED* attire in that county's policy. She knew this. Note the article said a specific complaint had been made against her, triggering the bra-check. This wasn't some random boorish grope.
A clasp was checked for and not found. She had little choice but to prove she was in compliance.
Brought to yu by the same people who make the dry sawdust-consistency cornbread. Yuck!
No.
Your boss doesn't have any right to put his hands on you in any circumstance.
Plus, feeling someone's back for a clasp isn't even a valid test - plenty of bras are either claspless, or have a concealed clasp that does not stick out to ruin the "line" of the clothes, or have the clasp in the front between the breasts.
I amend my above statement, in the interest of forestalling casuistry, that your boss has a right to put his hands on you if you are attempting to injure him or others.
I'll be frank: I have the torso of a 12-year old boy. When Playtex manufactures a bra with a negative cup size, I'll be the first in line to buy one. I don't show nipple protrusions by the same means that men don't show nipple protrusions: I wear t-shirts and tank shirts underneath my clothes, or I wear clothes which are fully lined. For ladies like me, wearing a bra is uncomfortable and occasionally painful. If one does not have the breasts to keep the underwire (or underlining) of a bra in place, the underwire creeps up and pinches one's nipples.
So what is a gal like me supposed to do? Obviously, I am responsible enough not to apply for a job which would require something so ludicrous. But should I go in for breast enlargement? Would that boost my employability? Not that it is something I would ever consider. I've spent my whole life wilfully ignoring what the fashion pages expect me to look like. I wouldn't change that stance just because of the ridiculous policy of one county's bureacracy. Speaking of the county's policies, are men required to wear undergarments as well? I wouldn't want their nipple imprints all over my corn beef hash, FCOL.
I was wondering if this was due to her “ high beams “ being on. Some gals just have a hard time from preventing them from poking through.
Duct Tape - Keeps things from popping loose!
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