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Ex-Waitress Sues College Bar, Claims She Was Humiliated By Skimpy Uniform and Objectified By Bosses [UPDATED]
Courtney Scaramella used to work at O'Hara's in Westwood, until she got fed up of having to put on a skimpy skirt and subject herself to "embarrassing" rituals endorsed by the bar owners. The ex-employee has filed a suit, claiming her complaints about the dress code and the work environment led to her termination.
The 23-year-old former waitress says that she was dismayed when O'Hara's introduced the new plaid school-girl style mini skirts that were held together with Velcro last fall, according to CBS2. Her lawsuit against the bar's owners indicates that management would place fans on the floor angled so that they would blow up the waitresses' skirts while they rang up patrons, exposing their rear ends.
Additionally, Scaramella says the objectification of women extended to the patrons as well, citing a the bar's system of allowing male customers to rate the "hotness" of the female customers, and rewarding top vote-getters with shots of booze.
“They just can’t treat people like this,” said Scaramella. “What’s right is right and this was not fair.” She says she was humiliated, objectified and sexually harassed by a co-owner and a manager while on the job.
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O'Hara's--formerly known as Maloney's--is described on Yelp as "the quintessential college bar with terrible service. Definitely a dive bar that tries to be a club," and "the place where UCLA has-beens go to prey on the fresh meat."
Scaramella says she sent the owners a written complaint, but as a consequence, while the dress code was dropped, the server found her hours cut and was ultimately let go. She had been employed by the bar for four and a half years.
O'Hara's lawyers say Scaramella quit, and they are not interested in offering her a settlement.
UPDATE Nov. 23, 2012: Management of O'Hara's have settled with Scaramella out of court. "Attorneys notified Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green on Nov. 2 that Courtney Scaramella's case against O'Hara's [...] was resolved, according to court records," City News Service reports today. The terms of the settlement were not divulged.
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