Huffington Post on Monday:
The New York Post reported this morning that Lorenzana was told by her current employer, JPMorgan Chase, that she may be fired her for her very public campaign against Citigroup.
In an appearance Monday morning on NBC's "The Today Show," Lorenzana told a brief version of her story, which was initially reported at -- at length -- by theVillage Voice. Lorenzana claims that a New York City branch of Citibank fired her because her figure and wardrobe were "too distracting" to her coworkers.
In the "Today Show" interview, Lorenzana appeared next to her attorney Jack Turner, who said that Citigroup "fired her the day she complained the second time. It was obviously a response to her protected civil rights complaints."
Lorenzana told the "Today Show" that she only filed suit against Citigroup after a lifetime of mistreatment for her appearance. "What I'm trying to make is a point that enough is enough," Lorenzana said. "I've been through my entire life going through [this] harassment."
"There's a point where you say I don't want to go through this any more," she added. "So, now I'm trying something different."
More from Village Voice:
According to Lorenzana: On Thursday, her manager called her into his office and informed her that if she kept talking to the press, she was putting herself in serious risk of losing her job. The manager said she had violated an employee code of conduct that prohibits employees from bashing the financial industry as a whole. They gave her a copy of the code of conduct in writing.
"They said I was damaging the reputation of the entire industry," Lorenzana tells the Voice.
At the end of the conversation, Lorenzana says she was told: "Why don't you take a breather and let us know whether you are going to continue talking to the media?" She went back to work. A few hours later, she says, "I told them I was going to proceed." Tomorrow she is slated to appear on Good Morning America -- a direct violation of her orders from Chase.
Here's the code of conduct she's talking about: "The concept of relating to JPMorgan Chase businesses is broadly defined and generally includes anything related to the financial services industry, the firm itself, and its businesses."
Tuckner says that he immediately contacted Heather Mitchell, corporate counsel for JPMorgan Chase. Mitchell, Tuckner says, confirmed that Lorenzana had breached the code of conduct by speaking to the press. Even if she ceased all media interviews immediately, she would continue to be in serious risk of termination. (Mitchell did not respond this afternoon to the Voice's e-mail request for an interview).
On a side note: Here is JP Morgan Chase employee handbook. Click here.
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