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'Too Hot' Former Citi Employee Defies ChaseUpdated: 12 hours 31 minutes ago
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Michelle Ruiz
Contributor

AOL News (June 7) -- The former Citibank employee who claimed she was fired because of her distractingly good looks could soon lose another job and file a brand new lawsuit over a potentially controversial body part: her mouth.

Debrahlee Lorenzana says her Citi-slamming media blitz led her new employer, JPMorgan Chase, to threaten disciplinary action "up to and including termination" over appearances and interviews they say bash the banking industry and breach the company's code of conduct.

Saswat Pattanayak / Splash
Debrahlee Lorenzana's attorney said the former Citibank employee will take legal action against her current employer, JPMorgan Chase, if she is fired for criticizing Citibank in the media.
If Chase ousts her for publicly airing her gripes with Citi, Lorenzana's attorney, Jack Tuckner, told AOL News she will take instant legal action.

"If she walks in and gets fired, Debrahlee Lorenzana is filing suit against JPMorgan Chase," he said. "It is illegal to block her from speaking out against unlawful employment practices."

The single mom who now works as a personal banker at a Chase branch in Brooklyn said her boss threatened disciplinary action against her if she went ahead with morning television interviews scheduled for today. Lorenzana told the New York Post the order came to her boss directly from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon himself.

"They asked me if I was going to proceed," Lorenzana, 33, told the Post. "They said if I kept talking, it was grounds for termination."

Lorenzana vowed to keep talking, making appearances this morning on CBS' "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today." Tuckner said those moments in the spotlight could cost Lorenzana her job.

"What happens tomorrow when she goes to work remains to be seen," he told AOL News. "If she goes in and they say, 'Look, we were stupid. Go back to your desk,' then that's great. But it's not likely to happen."

When reached by AOL News, JPMorgan Chase declined to comment. Citibank has said Lorenzana's termination was "performance-based," citing her below-average sales and lateness to work.

Tuckner said Lorenzana had a "terrific" relationship with Chase until last week, when her story -- and sultry pictures of her in her trademark pencil skirts -- surfaced in the Village Voice and a flurry of other New York newspapers. Lorenzana's Citi lawsuit raised eyebrows at Chase, according to Tuckner.

"They started looking into her background, calling old managers to see if they could find anything on her," he said.

Tuckner said he confirmed with Chase's legal department that Lorenzana's manager warned her against making further media appearances, saying her anti-Citi statements publicly soiled the financial services industry, a violation of Chase's code of conduct.

Lorenzana told the "The Early Show" she refused to be silenced.

"I tried staying quiet and just get(ting) another job many times. But it came be a vicious pattern ... and it never changed," she said. "Now I'm going to speak up. Enough is enough."

Tuckner said Lorenzana is not besmirching the banking industry by going public with her Citi suit.

"The financial service industry is accusing little Debrahlee Lorenzana of making them look bad. ... This industry that has very little left is blaming one woman for tainting it," he said. "It's just an outrage."
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