A posh Upper East Side private school – already besieged by striking maintenance workers claiming unfair labor practices – was slapped with a gender-discrimination lawsuit by two former cleaning women yesterday.
The women claim they were paid less than their male counterparts at the all-girls Chapin School and denied full-time positions by a supervisor who said full-time work is “a man’s job.”
The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, asks for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as full-time cleaning positions for both women.
Elsa Gonzalez, 50, was a part-time cleaner at the school for 4½ years before she was fired on June 14. Maria Aleman, 74, was fired the same day after nine years at Chapin.
Chapin lawyer Peter Conrad said that while he has not yet seen the suit, he is “sure there is no basis for any claims of sex discrimination against the Chapin School.”
The school is already battling a striking maintenance staff, which walked out 10 days ago and is trying to gain entry into Local Union 32BJ.