A former Hooters waitress is suing the restaurant chain in federal court, alleging she was forced to quit after brain surgery left her with a shaved head and scar that made it too painful to wear a wig.

As ABC News reports, 27-year-old Sandra Lupo had been working at the Hooters in St. Peters, Mo. since April 2005. Last summer, she briefly left her waitressing position so doctors could remove a brain mass they had found.

At the time, Lupo’s manager supported her, visiting her in the hospital and suggesting that when she was ready to return back to work, she could wear a “chemo cap,” to “distract from lack of hair and the visibility of her cranial scar,” the lawsuit alleges.

On July 16, doctors gave Lupo clearance to return to her waitressing job, which was putting her through nursing school.

As she prepared to return, a Hooters regional manager allegedly told her that she would have to wear a wig to cover her shaved head and scar.

Lupo complied with the request, borrowing a wig from a friend. But she found that “it caused extreme stress to her body, because of the surgery and healing wound,” ABC News reports.

After that, her hours were reduced so drastically that she was forced to quit, which made her uneligible for unemployment benefits, the lawsuit alleges.

"[Lupo's] physical injury was an actual disability from her surgery which limited the major life activity of working when such work required a wig to be worn," court documents explain.

In a complaint filed with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, Lupo said she never believed her customers were ever "offended" by her appearance, reports ABC News.

“My customers were not offended, and were in fact curious about the obvious scar from my surgery," the complaint states.

According to the Huffington Post, the Missouri Human Rights Act prevents workplace discrimination based on disability.

But Marcia McCormick, associate professor of law at St. Louis University, says that Hooters could argue her appearance was a legitimate qualification for the job.

"In the disability context, if Hooters is to say she's not as attractive now without this wig, if they're selling her attractiveness that might be a real function of her job and mean she isn't qualified by the Americans With Disabilities Act," she tells ABC News.

"Most companies can't say something like this, but Hooters sells this experience.”

Hooters has filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed.