| Court OKs makeup rule for casino workers |
Lambda Legal expressed disappointment Tuesday after a federal appeals court ruled against its client, a woman bartender who had been fired for refusing to wear makeup as part of the dress code of Harrah's casinos.
In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court decision, ruling Harrah's treated both sexes equally: male bartenders had to keep their hair short and nails trimmed, while female bartenders had to sport makeup and lipstick.
The policy was implemented in April 2000.
A few months later, in August 2000, Harrah's Reno, Nev., location fired Darlene Jespersen for refusing to adopt the dress code.
Jespersen had worked for Harrah's for 21 years and had been lauded several times for her outstanding service. She insisted makeup was a personal choice and did not affect how she was able to do her job.
During court testimony, Jespersen revealed that even when she tried wearing makeup it "made her feel sick, degraded, exposed and violated."
Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson told the Associated Press that the casino offered Jespersen her job back, but she refused.
She sued the casino instead.
While Harrah's has since modified its policy, women still have to wear makeup.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Jespersen as being "very disappointed" with the ruling.
"Sex discrimination is a serious problem for women," she told the newspaper. "Men come in clean and neat and presentable, and that's OK," but women are judged differently, Jespersen added.
Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for Lambda Legal, said the ruling could adversely affect working women.
"Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act requires the protection of women from burdensome sex stereotypes," she said in a press release from Lambda Legal. "But today's decision makes those protections hollow because it says women -- including our client Darlene Jespersen -- cannot even seek fairness with a day in court to explain how sex-based employment rules impact them in real life."
Source: PlanetOut
Friday, 31 December 2004
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