Pandemic shutdowns spurred workers in hard-hit industries to find alternative forms of income, yet many who turned to sex work to help make ends meet say they’re facing hostile work environments when returning to traditional jobs.

Hospitality workers who lost their jobs during the first wave of lockdowns were the first pool of workers to face this issue, according to Vincent White, an attorney at White, Hilferty & Albanese.

“And when things started opening up again, some employers said, ‘You can’t work here, you’re a prostitute now,’” said White, whose firm has represented workers in several cases alleging unlawful discrimination related to prior sex work.

In one of those cases, a former T-Mobile employee alleged that she reported a physically aggressive encounter with a male colleague, only to have human resources question her about her account on OnlyFans, a paid online platform often used to sell explicit content.

The suit was filed last summer and ended outside of court. White declined to comment on the specifics of that case.

In another case filed in July 2020, Randall Kotnik, a corrections officer in Long Island, sued the county for harassment he allegedly faced from a supervisor. Kotnik’s complaint accused his supervisor of showing years-old clips of homosexual porn that Kotnik...

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