(LEGAFI) -- A male bartender in Atlanta, Georgia, has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, claiming he was fired to make room for "hot chicks."

 

Tony E. Clark alleges in the gender discrimination lawsuit that he was hired as a bartender at Varasano's Pizzeria in Atlanta in March 2009 when the restaurant first opened. He claims in August 2010, the owner of the pizzeria hired a consultant to develop a strategy for attracting more customers.

 

According to the gender discrimination lawsuit, the consultant told Clark that the restaurant was going in "a new direction" and was going to hire "hot chicks" to attract customers to the restaurant. Clark claims after implementing the new strategy, Varasano's began drastically reducing his work hours. He was fired soon thereafter in September 2010 without reason and without any official explanation for the termination, he claims in the lawsuit.

 

The owner of Varasano's denies Clark's claims, saying the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Clark's allegations and dismissed the case in September. 

 

"Based upon its investigation, the EEOC is unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes," the dismissal states.