Woman sues a Lexington restaurant, claims she was fired for her appearance and age
Lexington restaurant Frank and Dino’s, owned by Post Time Lexington, LLC, is being sued by a former employee who claims she was fired for her appearance, age and weight.
Scarlett Tracey, a 47-year-old Frankfort resident, filed the lawsuit last week, alleging that the owner of the restaurant, Carlo Vaccarezza, made multiple derogatory comments about her looks and ultimately fired her for her physical appearance.
According to the lawsuit, Tracey was hired after a soft opening of the restaurant in August 2021, when she voluntarily bought black clothes and went behind the bar to help a struggling bartender during busy business hours. She was informed by a manager that she was hired for the job.
The lawsuit alleges that the manager heard the owner say, “Are you hiring bartenders by the pound now?” and that Tracey was “not attractive enough to work” at the restaurant.
Nearly a month after being hired, the manager told Tracey the owner had asked him to fire Tracey because “she did not fit the image of the restaurant and was not attractive enough to work behind the bar,” court documents allege.
She also alleges she was called “fat and ugly” by the owner, according to the lawsuit.
In a sworn affidavit from the former manager, he said the owner told him, “I want you to fire (Tracey). She’s ugly anyways. I don’t need that (Tracey) behind my bar anymore.”
This manager said in the affidavit that Tracey was a reliable and knowledgeable bartender who was qualified for the position due to decades of employment and service.
“(The owner’s) decision to terminate Tracey was motivated directly due to her physical appearance and age,” the affidavit stated.
An unnamed employee with Frank and Dino’s told the Herald-Leader that the restaurant would offer no comment regarding the lawsuit.
But WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner, reported that restaurant representatives said they fired Tracey because of her work performance. They said she was late for work, did not show up for work, and they alleged drug use.
She was fired on Sept. 15, 2021. According to her attorney, Brad Zoppoth, there was no documentation of these issues and Tracey was never issued corrective actions or warnings regarding attendance, performance or discipline.
“There is no documentation of any of these issues, and that is what we call pre-textual basis for termination, it is made up,” Zoppoth said. “There is no evidence that these were issues that were occurring in the workplace and they are vehemently denied by Tracey.”
She is suing for sex and age discrimination for unlawful termination. Tracey hopes to recover compensatory and punitive damages.
In addition to two written affidavits from former supervisors of Tracey, Zoppoth said he took Tracey’s case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found that there was reasonable cause to believe the restaurant violated non-discrimination laws.
“That is a strong piece of evidence we have to the lawsuit,” Zoppoth said. “ ... She has support and backup from employees and an unbiased, administrative organization.”
This is not Frank & Dino’s first time facing legal troubles. In October 2021, the restaurant faced eviction from KO Holdings LLC, the owners of the Security Trust Building, because of unpaid rent.
KO Holdings said Frank & Dino’s owed nearly $20,600 in rent. Even though Frank & Dino’s disputed that rent amount, its owners agreed to pay to end the eviction case, according to Joseph Buckles, an attorney for KO Holdings.
Vaccarezza also recently opened a new downtown restaurant on Main Street called La Folie. It is an upscale French restaurant.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 10:07 AM.
