Saturday, January 30, 2010

Stereotypes and Title VII



[Above: Probably not a contender for the desk clerk position.]

Michael P. Maslanka examines a very interesting case:

In Lewis v. Heartland Inns of America, et al., a female hotel desk clerk has, as she characterizes it, "an Ellen DeGeneres kind of look." She wore loose-fitting clothing, including men's button-down shirts and slacks. (Historical footnote from me: The word slacks started in Dallas with the Haggar Co., whose founder wanted to provide men with pants for "slack time.") A manager did not like this look, supposedly saying that the employee lacked the "Midwestern Girl look" and that female desk clerks needed to be "pretty." The clerk got fired and sued.

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