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60-year-old adult entertainment worker gets $60,000

Courtesy: DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER NINA MANDELL

Mary Bassi, 60-year-old adult entertainment worker, gets $60K from former employer

Women in their 50s still have a viable career in adult entertainment clubs, thanks to one pioneer.

Mary Bassi, a Houston strip club worker who claims she was fired because she was too old, set a precedent for women in the industry when she received $60,000 from her former employers last week.

Bassi, now 60, claimed she had been fired after 13 years at the club in 2006 because of her age – which was 56 at the time.

Her dismissal came after two male managers of the Houston-area club Cover Girls began making comments to Bassi about her age, the lawsuit alleged. According to the EEOC, which took on her case, the managers would tell Bassi that she was “exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s disease” among other derogatory statements.

Eventually, the EEOC alleged, the managers began hiring younger waitresses to take over shifts for Bassi and then she was fired.

Strip club or not, Cover Girls is still subject to age discrimination laws, the EEOC said.

“No matter what sector they occupy, business establishments are not exempt from the federal laws which protect employees from discrimination and adverse employment actions based on age,” said EEOC Regional Attorney James Sacher in a press release.

The lawsuit could help other adult entertainment workers in similar situations as they age, the EEOC lawyer who took on Bassi’s case told ABCNews.

“It lets them know that they’re not just a value because of their youth,” said Connie White. “They can’t be run out of any industry as they get older.”

Since being fired, Bassi has gone on to work for another adult entertainment club in the city. Cover Girls closed shortly after Bassi was let go because of a fire, but is expected to reopen this year.