RALEIGH, N.C. _ A bartender's fake nails got her fired from a restaurant in North Carolina before she started the job.
Now she's suing for discrimination.
Desiree Jackson accused The Traveled Farmer _ a since-shuttered restaurant and bar in Greensboro _ of discriminating against her in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a federal lawsuit amended Monday.
Jackson, who has psoriasis, wears artificial nails at the recommendation of her dermatologist, her attorney said in the complaint.
"The Plaintiff, embarrassed and humiliated, was sent away without any further discussion of a way to accommodate her disability of psoriasis, having been flatly told that due to having psoriasis she could not work for the defendant," the suit states.
Kick Ass Concepts, which operated The Traveled Farmer before it closed, did not respond to McClatchy news group's request for comment Tuesday.
The restaurant shut its doors at the end of 2017, the Greensboro News & Record reported. It was replaced by a catering company.
Jackson applied and was interviewed for a bartender position six months before the restaurant closed, according to the complaint.
She disclosed information about her diagnosis and the dermatologist's recommendation during the interview, the suit states. The person interviewing her then reportedly consulted with the manager as to whether they could hire someone with psoriasis.
Skin cells "build up rapidly" for people with the condition, according to the Mayo Clinic, and "form scales and red patches that are itchy and sometimes painful."
It has no cure and comes and goes in waves.
The manager at The Traveled Farmer consented to hiring Jackson as long as her artificial nails were trimmed short and painted "natural in color," the complaint states. Before arriving for her first shift the following week, Jackson reportedly followed those instructions.
But the manager appeared to have changed her mind.
"I'm not going to go back and forth with you," she reportedly told Jackson when she got to the restaurant and saw her nails. "If you have psoriasis, you can't work here."
Under North Carolina Food Service Sanitation Rules, attorneys for Jackson conceded food workers are not allowed to wear nail polish or artificial nails.
"However, those rules expressly provide that fingernail polish or artificial nails may be worn if single-use gloves are worn," the suit states.
Jackson was not given a chance to discuss that option before she was sent away, according to the complaint.
The suit seeks compensatory damages for lost wages and mental and psychological pain and suffering as well as medical expenses.
