Employment Discrimination Cases Based on Appearance
Are employees wrongfully terminated and denied certain roles based on their appearances? According to numerous lawsuits over the last few years, the answer is yes. The following cases cover a variety of topics including age, race, disability, and religious discrimination.
In 2007, Lester Roy was forced to leave his position as a Long Island Beach lifeguard because he refused to wear a certain type of swimwear for his annual swim test. Being over 60, he did not feel comfortable wearing a Speedo-type suit, but thought the looser board shorts or boxer-style suit would slow down his time. He wanted to wear a “jammer” suit, which resembles bike shorts and had been his outfit choice for previous annual tests. His request was denied, and without taking the test, he was no longer qualified to lifeguard at the beach. He attempted to take the new lifeguard test in 2008, but was again denied permission to wear the swimsuit of his choice. He filed a lawsuit in 2009 alleging age discrimination, saying he was forced out of his position to make room for younger lifeguards. His case was dismissed, but the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeals, so it is still pending.
In another case of modesty versus work-mandated attire, Hani Khan filed a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch in June of this year when she was told she could no longer wear her headscarf, or hijab. In her religious discrimination claim, Ms. Khan states she was told she could wear a headscarf when she was hired as long as it matched the company’s colors. But four months later she was told to remove it and was subsequently suspended and terminated when she refused. With the help of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), LaKettra Bennett filed a claim in St. Louis against the Hollister clothing chain, a subsidiary of Abercrombie & Fitch. Ms. Bennett is Pentecostal, and women who follow this faith do not wear skirts above the knee or pants. Her lawsuit claims that she was fired from Hollister when she refused to wear shorter skirts.
Abercrombie & Fitch is no stranger to discrimination lawsuits in the United States or abroad. Riam Dean was hired by Abercrombie & Fitch in London. Because she has a prosthetic arm, Ms. Dean asked permission to wear a medical sock on that arm during her new-employee orientation. She was told to wear a white cardigan instead. Employees at the store are required to wear t-shirts in the summer, so when she wore the cardigan to work at the store her manager and other co-workers informed her she was violating the store’s dress code. When her manager eventually relegated her to the stockroom for dressing inappropriately, Ms. Dean filed a complaint with the corporation and was informed she never should have worked in the front of the store, only in the stockroom. Ms. Dean left the job and filed a disability discrimination suit. The judge awarded her about $15,000 for wrongful termination. Back in the United States, Abercrombie & Fitch settled a class action race discrimination suit for $40 million in 2004. The suit stated that the company only allowed white employees to work in the front of the store and made minorities work in the stockroom or dressing room. In addition to the monetary award, the company was also required to promote more diversity in its work force.
Employers can have a say in their employees’ appearances, to a certain extent. People working in an office and interacting with clients may be required to dress professionally. Restaurant employees should be clean and wear items such as gloves and hair nets for sanitary reasons. Anti-discrimination laws don’t mean anything goes in the workplace. They do mean employees at the same performance and experience levels should be treated equally and given the same opportunities. A difference in appearance due to religion, or age, or a disability, or ethnicity, should not banish someone to the stockroom or make someone leave his job at the beach. Kentucky employment attorney Steven Frederick is experienced in helping individuals fight discrimination in the workplace and can assist you in determining if you have a claim and taking appropriate action.
Sources:
Ex-Jones Beach Lifeguard Claims He Was Fired For Not Wearing Speedo; CBS New York; August 18, 2011
Muslim accuses US retailer of banning head scarf; Reuters; June 28, 2011
Abercrombie Sued by Former Employee; ABC News; Liam Berkowitz; June 24, 2009
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