A New York woman claims she was fired because of her hair.
32-year-old Rachel Sakabo was working at the front desk of Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel when her manager confronted her about her hairstyle.
According to Sakabo, the manager told her she couldn’t have braids at the front desk. Sakabo, who has locs, agreed to change her hairstyle in order to defuse the issue.
Less than two full weeks on the job, Sakabo was told she was being “let go” because she wasn’t a “good fit” with the “culture” of the establishment.
Having acquired years of experience from working at New York’s fine-dining Rainbow Room restaurant, Sakabo isn’t buying the claim that she wasn’t a good fit.
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“I don’t think I was rightfully let go. I definitely think it has to do with the fact that I’m black and I have dreads,” Sakabo told BuzzFeed News.
When she reached out to the New York Hotel Workers Union for support, she was turned away because she had not worked enough hours to be considered a part of the union.
In an interview with Mic, Sakabo said she intends to take legal action against the hotel for discrimination.
“It’s rude and disrespectful, and so damaging,” she told Mic. “As a woman, it feeds into the insecurity of not being enough because your look is unacceptable; like being ‘politely’ told you’re ugly.”
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