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Tracy Wiggs, 48, says he has healthy feet and hands. And he didn't need any extra work done — no polish, no wax. He went into a Fort Washington salon on Nov. 23 seeking a regular buff-up on his worn hands and size-8 feet.

So Wiggs was surprised when TT&C Nails charged him $35, a price $5 more than the advertised price for women.

"That's discrimination!" Wiggs of White Plains said he told a salon employee, during an interview with The Gazette.

The incident is detailed in a civil suit Wiggs filed Feb. 15 against TT&C Nails in Prince George's County Circuit Court. Wiggs is seeking $100,000 in compensation for alleged gender discrimination.

The court will set a hearing once the defendants respond to the suit, said Jimmy A. Bell, Wiggs' attorney.

A man who answered the phone Wednesday at TT&C Nails and identified himself as the owner declined to provide his name and said he did not want to comment at this point in the proceedings.

Bell, whose office is in Bowie, happens to be quite handy going toe-to-toe against salons he alleges are gender-discriminating by charging men more than women.

In September, Bell filed his own civil suit against a Landover salon that he claims charged him $2 more than a woman who received the same manicure/pedicure treatment.

Bell said his case was resolved in January "with satisfaction to both parties" but declined to elaborate. Prince George's County Circuit Court files confirm the case was closed.

Although the dollar difference may seem petty, the cases are about principle, Bell said.

"Imagine if somebody posted a price that said Jews pay more," Bell said.

Wiggs did not seek out Bell's legal services because of the attorney's past experience with a similar case, he said. Rather, Bell represents Wiggs' 20-year-old company, White Plains-based Jus' Wiggin Entertainment Inc., and Wiggs mentioned the salon incident almost offhand one day.

"And [Bell] said, ‘You're not going to believe it,'" before launching into the Landover salon story, Wiggs said.

Wiggs recognizes that, "We're talking about $5 here," but says that does not make discrimination right.

"They need to be educated," Wiggs said. "I was like, ‘Dude, that's just wrong.'"

awaite@gazette.net