Hi, I'm John Edwards.
Posted on 12/29/2004 8:39:47 AM PST by freespirited
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A female bartender who refused to wear makeup at a Reno, Nevada, casino was not unfairly dismissed from her job, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
Darlene Jespersen, who had worked for nearly 20 years at a Harrah's Entertainment Inc casino bar in Reno, Nevada, objected to the company's revised policy that required female bartenders, but not men, to wear makeup.
A previously much-praised employee, Jespersen was fired in 2000 after the firm instituted a "Beverage Department Image Transformation" program and she sued, alleging sex discrimination.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Harrah's. All three judges are males appointed by Democratic presidents.
"We have previously held that grooming and appearance standards that apply differently to women and men do not constitute discrimination on the basis of sex," Judge Wallace Tashima wrote for the majority.
He cited the precedent of a 1974 case in which the court ruled that a company can require men to have short hair but allow long hair on women.
The Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a gay rights group that backed Jespersen's suit, had argued that forcing female employees to have different standards than men was unlawful under rules, known as Title VII, against discrimination on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The ruling found, however, that the casino's appearance standards were no more burdensome for women than for men.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Sidney Thomas backed the reasoning of the plaintiff. "Harrah's fired Jespersen because of her failure to confirm to sex stereotypes, which is discrimination based on sex and is therefore impermissible under Title VII," he wrote.
"The distinction created by the majority opinion leaves men and women in services industries, who are more likely to be subject to policies like the Harrah's 'Personal Best' policy, without the protection that white-collar professionals receive," he wrote.
YOW. You couldn't get more lesbo wearing Birkenstocks and Alan Alda shorts that show off your hairy legs at an Indigo Girls concert while waving a well-worn copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves.
"Maybe her religion doesn't allow her to wear make-up?"
Her religion allows her to work in a bar but doesn't allow makeup?
"In this case using make-up is like pissing in the ocean."
Well, you know, she looks to be in her 50s and has been working at this job for a long time. For all I know, she's a very nice person. Looks aren't everything.
All the make up in the world ain't gonna help THAT!!!
BigMack
Can women write off the cost of makeup if the job requires it?
Love to meet the lawyer who set this one up......
The only thing that's gonna help this particular woman is wearing a Pamela Anderson mask. Permanently.
Abide by the employer's rules or get another job.
Not too complicated.
Easy there. Your bio mentions courtesy...
Nope. Not if she can wear same makeup in her everyday, non-work life. Same thing with "uniforms."
. . . denied a deduction for loud and flashy clothing worn on stage by a member of Rod Stewart's band, stating the clothing was suitable for personal wear."
[Techner, TC Memo 1997-498]
"The only thing that's gonna help this particular woman is wearing a Pamela Anderson mask. Permanently."
Ya know, not every woman looks like a model. I'll bet a lot of the mothers of people on this forum don't look like Pamela Anderson, either.
This woman is probably 50 years old, or more. She's mixing drinks at a bar, not trying to win a beauty contest. Sorry, but ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Not every woman must be beautiful.
LOL!
Hi, I'm John Edwards.
http://www.nevadalabor.com/barbwire/barb00/barb10-8-00.html
Makeup would look stupid on this woman. If she is a good bartender, who cares whether she wears makeup or not? Personally, I think the mullet should go.
I don't wear makeup. The older you get, the less makeup the better, according to old fashioned wisdom. Now it's botox and face lifts.
Let the woman do her job.
We need to get the word to Darlene that they're doing amazing things with make-up these days. It can even make butch lesbians purdy I betcha.
http://www.bareminerals.com/index.jsp
I wonder why the author felt compelled to mention this.
I agree... she didn't wear makeup for years. Wearing makeup NOW wouldn't make her look any younger. There's only so much you can do! LOL
Something about "drinking her beautiful" comes to mind....
Betty, have you ever tried Bare Minerals? Some of their "before" and "after" shots on their commercials are incredible. So good in fact, I've been considering giving it a try.
I personally don't care. If the company says she needs to wear it, then she needs to wear it. Period. Reminds me of the chicks that worked at Hooters then decided to sue them for making them wear such skimpy outfits. Puuuhhhleeeeeze.
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