Ex-Hooters waitress gets state benefits

DAVENPORT, Iowa, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A waitress who was barred from working at a Hooters restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, after being bruised has been awarded unemployment benefits, officials said.

The Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported Monday that Sara Dye, 27, claimed she was fired after taking time off to recover from an assault. The company said the woman's bruised body made her temporarily ineligible to work as a "Hooters Girl."

An administrative law granted unemployment benefits to Dye, who lives Rock Island, Ill. Hooters claimed she was ineligible for benefits because she abandoned her job.

In her ruling, Judge Teresa Hillary found that Dye's "inability to work due to bruises" did not amount to misconduct on Dye's part, the newspaper reported.

Dye testified that she understood why she couldn't come to work in the days immediately following her domestic violence attack.

"My body appearance wasn't up to par," she said.