.. 
Wait a minute..
The article specifically said male bartenders were excluded.
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.
Tangent, but you're post reminded me of Eddie Murphy's famous Saturday Night Live scene where he proudly goes around as an immigrant announcing in a thick accent, "I have hair piece! I have hair piece!"
Which of course sounded like he was saying something else.
IMHO the ruling is correct, employers need discretion, but this company should also be held up to long and sustained public scorn. It is a stupid policy. Creepy, in fact. A little makeup goes a long way, and if I drank I would prefer not to be served by someone painted up like a drag queen.
Thank you kindly Betty, I believe I will.
I know that your comment wasn't directed to me, but if I was in a service / entertainment industry job where appearance mattered, it would be OK with me.
Ditto for a requirement that guys hit the gym on a regular basis.
"In this particular instance (she's not young) attitude is everything. I'd much rather have a waitress or bartender who's 45yo, plain looking, but genuinely friendly and who truly understands service, than a 20yo bimbo with nice legs, big honkers, and a gigantic chip on her shoulder."
I agree with you completely. If I order an Old Fashioned, I want it made correctly a lot more than I want to look down the waitress' blouse. But that's just me. Since this woman had been working at Harrah's for 21 years already, I'd guess she was a competent bartender.
This cult of beauty that so many people here seem to have joined is annoying as the dickens, IMO. Models need to be beautiful. Bartenders don't.
Say, how's the food in the Big House? Made any 'friends'?
"Models need to be beautiful. Bartenders don't."
Add stewardesses to the need to be beautiful column....
You can see the healthy diet has down wonders for my sexy grey locks.
"Add stewardesses to the need to be beautiful column....
"
Really? I couldn't care less. If they can deliver the drink cart in a timely way, I wouldn't care if they looked like Ruth Gordon. I don't fly to stare at flight attendants.
I don't know if you've noticed, but there are a lot of older flight attendants these days. It doesn't matter to me what they look like.
..
Wait a minute..
The article specifically said male bartenders were excluded.
Hey, if that's really you, then shame on you for frightening the women who are your bar customers! [grinnin' and duckin']
So does the guy have two X's or an X and a Y? If he/she is disordered in some way then lets call him/her disabled just like we do the mentally retarded. If his DNA is clearly male or female, then it is irrelevant what he "feels" like, or even what he sergically deformed himself to look like. I'd say to him, go get counseling and stop forcing others to play along with your disorders.
I am one of those 'before and after' models. Yeah, it works!
I fly alot for business. Very high prices for last minute flights, lousy food (if any), screaming kids, etc, etc. The least the airlines can do is provide attractive stewardesses, like they used to, instead of grandma or some heavily perfumed poofer to serve me drinks.
Just my 2 cents.
The 9th circus got off the farm again.Call the men with the white coats.
She should have attacked the law suit on mootness: makeup is irrelevant with a face like that.
probably. When an employer states requirements for the job, of course within reason, you must comply.
If they require you purchase shoes, you cannot show up barefoot. If they require make up and you show up bare faced, you are not in compliance with requirements for employment.
However, in todays all inclusive enviroment, I will be interested to see how this plays out.
Ignore my previous post. Wrong person wrong thread. LOL!
my rugby team went to a college tourney and i made up t-shirts that said , "When we party we party with Omega Mu!" Best shirt i ever thought of.
Old Spice? LOL
I was thinking Aqua Velva®, or maybe Lectric Shave®.
"I fly alot for business. Very high prices for last minute flights, lousy food (if any), screaming kids, etc, etc. The least the airlines can do is provide attractive stewardesses, like they used to, instead of grandma or some heavily perfumed poofer to serve me drinks."
Whatever. I fly a lot, too. What I want is not attractive flight attendants. I want on-time departures, my luggage at the end of the flight, and smoking areas in transfer areas in terminals.
What a stewardess looks like is of no interest to me at all. As long as he/she does the job, I'm a happy guy, if all my other flight requirements are met.
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