Ellen Simonetti Wants Her Job Back

They weren't really naughty photos. At worst, her flight attendant uniform shirt was open an extra button or two, exposing just a hint of her bra. But that was enough for Delta Airlines. The company fired her because it said she posed for "inappropriate photos."

The photos were posted on Simonetti's own blog site -- not at all affiliated with Delta. She never referred to the airline in her postings -- instead, inventing a mythical airline and a fake identity. At worst, "Diary of a Flight Attendant" never even rose "to the level of a PG rating for a movie," said her lawyer, Kevin Fitzpatrick, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. what's worse, she alleges, is that her blog site was no more revealing than the blogs of several male coworkers. That, her lawyer says, makes Delta guilty of discrimination.

So now, she's suing Delta. She wants her job back and she wants monetary damages.

"I was just in shock," Simonetti told the Journal-Constitution. "I asked why they didn't give me a warning. They said, 'This is your warning — being suspended....' They intimidated and harassed me."

Simonetti said she was also victimized by the airline for her role in the failed drive to unionize flight attendants. Since being dismissed, she said, she's been unable to find work as a flight attendant.

The case is now pending in an Atlanta federal court and could open up new avenues for other employees who are fired for the content of their off-work web sites.

FMI: www.eeoc.gov, www.delta.com, www.queenofsky.journalspace.com