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GPAC Disappointed By Ruling Requiring Make-Up WASHINGTON (April 21, 2006) The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) today expressed disappointment with a court ruling that upheld an employer's right to compel female employees to wear make-up. The ruling concluded a five-year legal battle between Harrah's Resorts and Darlene Jespersen, 49, who was fired after more than two decades on the job when she declined to conform to a new dress code. "Every employee deserves an equal chance to pursue their career and succeed in the workplace," said Riki Wilchins, Executive Director of GenderPAC. "American women long ago earned the right to be judged on nothing more or less than how well they do the job. This ruling is behind the times." In a 7-4 full court decision last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Darlene Jespersen, who sued the national casino chain for sex discrimination after being fired for refusing to wear makeup. The decision upholds a December 2004 ruling that sex-differentiated grooming standards cannot be the basis for a civil suit against an employer. Said Judge Harry Pregerson, in a dissenting opinion, "The inescapable message is that women's undoctored faces compare unfavorably to men's, not because of a physical difference between men's and women's faces, but because of a cultural assumption - and gender-based stereotype - that women's faces are incomplete, unattractive or unprofessional without full makeup." Jespersen was fired by Harrah’s - her employer of 21 years - after refusing to sign the corporation’s new "Personal Best" policy, which required female employees to style their hair, wear foundation or face powder, blush, mascara, lip color, and clear, pink, or red nail polish. Under the policy men are required to wear their hair above the collar, have clean and neatly trimmed fingernails, and have a clean face. In a statement to the press, Jespersen said "I'm disappointed because of the Ninth Circuit decision... We are doing the same job as men, but we have to be decorated to do the same job." |
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