A female esthetician for the European Wax Center in Pittsburgh claims she was fired for declining to perform a Brazilian wax on her coworkers, and for refusing to receive one, CBS Pittsburgh reports.
Jennifer Finley has since filed a lawsuit which her attorney, Janice Russell, categorizes as a suit which concerns several violations, including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation.
Ms. Finley seeks back pay and front pay, a jury trial, as well as compensation for other damages.
According to the case filed in civil court, the incident happened on day two of training for new employees.
Allegedly, they were supposed to practice certain hair removal procedures on one another, which Finley declined to do once being told.
“We were going to be performing Brazilian waxes on each other, and as soon as I found out, I said I’m not going to have that done on myself. I was willing to have different parts of my body waxed, my eyebrows. I was not willing to have a Brazilian wax.”
Brazilian waxing is the removal of all hair in the pelvic area.
Though Finley was had been informed of the practice session, she says it was never described as “mandatory.”
“I knew we were going to be practicing on each other, but nothing was set it stone that it was mandatory,” she said.
Upon speaking to the owner, Ryan Galstein, Finley says that she was immediately fired.
He has not yet commented on the pending lawsuit.