Ex-Host Sues Gramercy Tavern For Gender Discrimination: Report

GRAMERCY, NY — A former host at Gramercy Tavern is suing the restaurant for alleged gender discrimination, Eater New York reported.

Engels Coca, 31, who identifies as gender nonspecific, claims in a lawsuit that when they refused to wear male-specific clothing like a tie, the restaurant threatened to fire them, Eater reported.

The restaurant forced Coca to wear a tie and suit jacket and told them that "not wearing a collared shirt or not buttoning up your shirt would be the same as a girl not wearing a bra and showing up her boobs," according to the lawsuit. Gramercy Tavern management allegedly called Coca "sloppy" when they showed up without a tie and sent them home, Eater reported.

Coca allegedly quit in December after failed attempts to determine a gender-neutral uniform and when the work environment became "humiliating," Eater reported.

Union Square Hospitality Group, the parent company of Gramercy Tavern at 42 E. 20th St., declined to comment to Eater regarding ongoing litigation.

Click here for the full Eater report.