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A US federal
appeals court ruled that a female bartender who refused to wear makeup at a Reno casino
was not unfairly dismissed from her job. |
| For nearly 20 years
Darlene Jespersen worked at a Harrah's Entertainment casino bar in Reno. She objected when
the company instituted a new policy requiring female bartenders -- but not male bartenders
--to wear makeup. She was fired in 2000 after the company started its "Beverage
Department Image Transformation" program. She sued, alleging sex discrimination. |
| In a 2-1 decision, a
three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling in
favor of Harrah's. Writing for the majority, Judge Wallace Tashima said, "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." |
| All three judges are
men appointed by Democratic presidents. Having to identify judges' backgrounds in this
context indicates how politicized our judicial system has become. |
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