Tiffany Webb (allegedly pictured), a Manhattan high school guidance counselor, was fired from her job last December by the New York Department of Education (DOE), after racy lingerie shots of her surfaced that were taken before she was hired. Now the former educator is suing the DOE in an effort to get her job back, reports the New York Post.
The 37-year-old educator, who was held in high esteem by her colleagues, was released last December, when a student found her photos online and brought them to the attention of the principal of Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers.
Webb, who did not deny the shots of herself in skimpy lingerie, explained that the photos were taken when she worked as a teen model between the ages of 18 and 20. Webb told the Post that the photos were a part of her distant past and have nothing to do with her current duties as a professional.
“I am a dedicated professional and enjoyed being a guidance counselor,” she said. “I did my job well, and my students and parents thought very highly of me. I would love to return to [New York City schools] and resume the career I have chosen to help and guide students.”
Webb is suing the New York Department of Education for wrongful termination, s*x discrimination, and violation of her First Amendment rights. Webb, who is also seeking to reestablish herself in the post that paid an annual $84,000, also wants back pay and punitive damages.
Ironically, Webb was reportedly fired right before she was to gain tenure. When she was hired, the young woman claims to have informed her employers about her past. Webb claims to have been investigated twice before regarding her previous modeling career and was cleared in both instances by a panel. She has also been reviewed and was reportedly never given anything less than “excellent” regarding her duties.
According to the committee that voted 2-to-1 to boot Webb from her job, they contend that the once-exemplary employee now no longer fits the bill.
The inappropriate photos were accessible to impressionable adolescents. That behavior has a potentially adverse influence on her ability to counsel students and be regarded as a role model,’ the members ruled.
Webb’s lawyer, Stewart Karlin, however, insists that the online photos with his client’s likeness have been altered, are unauthorized, and depict her face with a different body. Karlin told the New York Post, “She had no control over it,” said Karlin, calling her termination “unconscionable.”
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Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Wednesday, October 10th 2012 at 7:48PM
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