Fired For Not Being Pretty

(Published April 1, 2010)

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As the old adage says, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But it should not be on the mind of the beholder, if the beholder is a manager making hiring or promotion decisions.

 

Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep...

Doreen Granger had successfully filled several part-time, night-shift positions as a guest services representative for a hotel before her manager, Gordon Tibbs, decided to offer her a coveted full-time, day-shift position. Before offering Granger the job, however, Tibbs had to get permission from the Director of Operations, Noreen Hassett. During their telephone conversation, Tibbs told Hassett that Granger had done a great job on the overnight shift and had received several customer comments praising her performance. Before they hung up, Hassett gave Tibbs permission to offer Granger the job.

 

All was well, until Hassett visited the hotel a few weeks later and actually saw Granger working at the front desk.

 

"Gordon, I need to talk to you in your office," Hassett said.

 

"Is there anything wrong?" Tibbs inquired when the two were in the privacy of his office.

 

"I'm not sure that Doreen Granger is a good fit for the front desk after all," she told him.

 

"What are you talking about?" Tibbs questioned. "Doreen is doing a phenomenal job."

 

"Let's just say that she doesn't have that ‘Midwestern girl look,'" Hassett explained.

 

Granger, by her own admission, maintained a more masculine appearance. She wore loose-fitting men's clothing, avoided make-up, and wore her hair cut short.

 

"What difference does it make what she looks like?" Tibbs asked. "Customers love her!"

 

"It is especially important that women working at the front desk be...well...pretty," replied Hassett. "I want you to move Doreen back to the overnight shift."

 

...But Ugly Comments Go Clean To The Bone

The following week, Hassett informed all of the hotel's general managers that hiring for a front desk position required a second interview. She also purchased video equipment to enable her to see an applicant before extending any job offer. When asked about the new arrangements, Hassett answered, "Hotels have to have a certain personification and appearance."

 

Hassett met with Granger to communicate the new interview procedures.

 

"In light of recent policy changes, you will need a second interview in order to confirm your day-shift position."

 

"But I've been in the job for a month," Granger pointed out. "Besides, no other staff member has been required to have a second interview."

 

"Our policies have changed."

 

"The only reason you're requiring me to go through a second interview is because I don't have that ‘Midwestern girl look.' Is that even legal?" Granger asked.

 

Three days later, Hassett fired Granger for "thwarting the proposed interview procedure" and "exhibiting hostility toward the hotel chain's most recent policies." Denying those charges and denying those were the real reasons for her discharge, Granger sued under Title VII. Her claim: Hassett found her unsuited for the job, not because of her qualifications or her performance, but because her appearance did not comport with a preferred feminine stereotype.

 

Although a district court dismissed her case, an appeals court reversed and sent the case to trial. Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1989 ruling in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the appeals court ruled that sexual stereotyping can constitute unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII when it influences employment decisions. The appeals court ruled that Hassett's criticism of Granger for lack of "prettiness" and the "Midwestern girl look" and her imposition of a second interview even after Granger performed the job successfully provided sufficient evidence that Granger was discriminated against because of her sex.

 

The Ugly Truth

Base all hiring and promotion decisions on bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ), not on sexual stereotypes. While "prettiness" or physical appearance may be a BFOQ for a select few jobs, such as a fashion model, it is not a legitimate reason for refusing to hire or promote an employee for a position in which physical appearance is not necessary to the normal operation of that particular business. While you may legally impose standards of professional appearance on male and female employees, you may not require that an employee conform to gender stereotypes of how you think a man or woman should look or act.

 

In a case such as this, the female employee does not have to show that male employees were treated better; she only needs to show that she was discriminated against because of her gender. Since the terms "pretty" and "Midwestern girl look" by their nature apply only to women, it is reasonable to conclude that these requirements were applied to Granger because she is a woman.