Houston strip clubs settle age bias claim

HOUSTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Two Houston strip clubs are settling an age bias suit by a waitress who was fired after managers scorned her as old, a federal agency said.

The owners of Centerfolds and Cover Girls agreed to pay Mary Bassi $60,000, the Houston Chronicle reported. She was fired at age 56 in 2006 "without provocation or explanation," her lawsuit filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stated.

Bassi was working for Cover Girls and previously worked at Centerfolds, said Connie Wilhite, the senior EEOC attorney in the case. Both are owned by brothers Ali and Hassan Davari.

The EEOC said two male managers at Cover Girls, in their 30s, harassed Bassi, called her "old" and suggested she was showing signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Cover Girls also began hiring younger waitresses and scheduling them for shifts instead of Bassi, the agency said.

The clubs' corporate entities, AHD Houston and W.L. York, deny, in a consent decree, all allegations of age discrimination. Their lawyer said both companies employ waitresses and other workers over 40.

Bassi, now 60, is working as a waitress at another sexually oriented business not owned by the Davari brothers, the report said.