MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO CANADA — When the owner of the New Locomotion Strip Club decided to let some of his more mature dancers go, he probably didn’t realize the ramifications of his actions. Now that he’s had multiple complaints of human rights violations lodged against him, he’s figuring it out. This past June, John Sit concluded that his club needed younger dancers in order to remain competitive. To make sure that all of his performers fit the new image, he fired four dancers, each deemed too old to shake their money makers at the club in spite of the fact they had done so reliably for years.
Kimberlee Ouwroulis and Barbara Sanderson had worked at Sit’s club for four years and seven months, respectively. Neither had ever heard a negative word about their performances. In fact, Sanderson had received a letter of reference in May from the club manager in order to help her secure a home mortgage. In the letter, she was described as “an ideal employee with a great future at the club.”
One month later, both women were let go, with Sanderson informed that customers considered her “old and ugly.”
“They pulled the rug out from under me,” Sanderson informed The Mississauga News. “I was earning my way and given every indication that I was doing my job until they canned me.”
In September, 44-year-old Ouwroulis filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, claiming age discrimination because she had been told the club was changing its image by hiring only younger women. She is demanding $100,000 in damages due to lost wages of $8,000 per month. In November, 45-year-old Sanderson followed suit, with two other dancers named in the women’s complaint.
Due to the Ontario Human Rights Code, employers are prohibited from treating employees differently based on age, unless there is a bona fide reason that a person’s age be a job requirement.
Both Ouwroulis and Sanderson have found work in other clubs, the former in Toronto and the latter in another local club. No hearing date has been determined by the tribunal, but the issue of age and its importance to the exotic dance industry will be taken under consideration.
