Former Slidell gym employee said she faced racial epithets, 'fro' didn't meet standards

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Aireial Mack was on a lunch break from her sales job at the LA Fitness gym in Slidell on Jan. 2 when she got a text message from her supervisor: "We took you off the schedule because your (hair) doesn't meet LA FITNESS STANDARDS in a fro," wrote Blake Mata, who is white. "We want a classy appearance. We don't want to leak off a n***er style don't take it wrong, just change it."

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Mack, who is African-American, said the text was not only sickening, but indicative of a pattern of racially biased comments uttered by her white male supervisors while she was an employee of the gym on the north shore. She said she immediately brought it to the attention of the gym's general manager, Mark Mayeux. Several days later, she was fired.

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While the state agency found violations, it also acknowledged that the official reasons the company gave for firing Mack — excessive sick days and a poor work ethic — are justifiable grounds for terminating an employee.

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Mack said that she does in fact plan to sue. If the case goes to trial, Stefanie Allweiss, a human resources expert, said that a jury would have to decide whether the conduct rose to the level of a hostile environment.

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