A Louisiana nurse is suing a local restaurant for discrimination after she was refused service for allegedly violating its dress code in a floral crop top and ankle-length skirt.
Y’Mine McClanhan, who is Black, was left feeling “utterly humiliated” after the incident at Stab’s Prime Steak and Seafood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July, her attorneys from Most & Associates wrote.
A lawsuit filed in federal court last week stated that McClanahan had gone to the restaurant for lunch wearing the outfit, which cost $75 at H&M. She had worn it several times previously without issue. When she arrived, she was refused service, with an employee explaining that the outfit violated Stab’s “business casual” dress code.
However, the suit states, McClanahan’s outfit did not fall under any of the specifically banned items listed in the online policy.
According to the suit, when she pushed further about the issue with her outfit, the restaurant’s co-owner told her that her clothing was “just too revealing at the top.”
McClanhan was “shocked” at the refusal of service, “especially because white patrons and employees at Stab’s were wearing less appropriate attire.” The lawsuit included pictures of various patrons – shared by Stab’s on social media – who were dressed similarly or in a more revealing manner.
A white waitress working on the day of the incident was also wearing fishnets and short-shorts, the suit notes.
“To be publicly discriminated against was extremely humiliating for Ms. McClanhan and, furthermore, it was illegal,” the filing states. “After Ms. McClanahan left Stab’s, she went to a nearby restaurant where she was not only served, but received several compliments on her outfit.”
McClanahan was “utterly humiliated by this act of discrimination,” the suit states.The attorneys wrote that if it is proven that Stab’s selectively applied the dress code because she is Black, the venue would have violated state law and the Civil Rights Act.
They added that the restaurant would also be liable for negligence if it can be proven that staff failed to apply the dress code “in an equitable and non-discriminatory fashion.”
Speaking to WAFB News following the incident she said: “I left feeling kind of mortified, violated, ashamed and really humiliated because I had never had something happen like this to me as a working professional.
“You feel alienated and it’s like well what’s wrong with me. What’s the problem with me?”Despite several months having passed since the incident occurred, McClanahan continues to feel humiliated and ashamed “as a result of the double-standard Stab’s showed to her versus white patrons and employees,” the lawsuit states.
McClanhan has requested a trial by jury and damages of an unspecified amount.
In a statement issued to WAFB at the time of the incident, Stab’s management said: “We have a dress code policy that we ask our customers to observe. A few times a month we speak with our guests about their attire, including asking them to remove baseball hats in our restaurant.
“Contrary to reports, our attire policy is not new, it has been in effect for over three years now. We spoke with a guest yesterday about her attire and she pointed out that we have waitstaff dressed in a manner that might not meet the standard of our attire policy.
“For the last several weeks, we have actually been working on a different uniform so that we are not asking a different standard for our customers than we are requiring of our staff.”
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