Spotlight on Dress Code Policies—DiscriminationBased on Gender. Burlington Coat FactoryWarehouse, Inc., had a dress code that required malesalesclerks to wear business attire consisting of slacks,shirt, and a necktie. Female salesclerks, by contrast,were required to wear a smock so that customers could readilyidentify them. Karen O’Donnell and other female employeesrefused to wear smocks. Instead they reported to work in businessattire and were suspended. After numerous suspensions, thefemale employees were fired for violating Burlington’s dress codepolicy. All other conditions of employment, including salary,hours, and benefits, were the same for female and male employees. Was the dress code policy discriminatory? Why or why not?[O’Donnell v. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, Inc., 656 F.Supp.263 (S.D. Ohio 1987)] (See Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.)

During the interview, Marsha was asked by the office manager whether she had any children, how old the children were, how many children she had, and whether she planned on having more children. The office manager also asked what Marsha's husband did for a living. How do you Interpret the legality of the questions that the office manager asked Marsha?

In which of these scenarios is the employer most likely to avoid liability for discrimination? O In order to discreetly find out where potential employees are from, an employer asks applicants how they have learned the languages in which they are fluent. An employer at Winslow's, a popular sports bar, refuses to hire as a hostess a 41-year-old female who has much experience in that type of position. The employer decided against hiring her solely because he just prefers "girls who are under 25" to work for him, regardless of their experience. Additionally, the employer will only hire women who "look like pretty young girls who are not much older than 18." O An employer requires all employees to take the same fitness-for-duty tests throughout their course of employment. These tests are monitored and scored, and each employee is given a letter grade to assess how the employee did. O An employer asks job applicants for their full name and marital status in a preliminary interview. O In…

KellyMarie Griffin works for the City of Portland, Oregon, as a clerical employee in the Parks and Recreation Department. She complains of conflict with her coworkers. In particular, Therea Lareau, the “lead” clerical employee at the same location, has made comments that are derogatory about or offensive to Griffin’s Christian faith. Ms. Lareau has referred to Griffin as “a wacko” because of her beliefs and, on at least one occasion, told Griffin that God was “a figment of [her] imagin[ation]” and that Griffin was “praying to something that didn’t exist.” Griffin also complains that many of her coworkers frequently page 51-42use “God” and “Jesus Christ” as swear words, which she finds offensive due to her religious beliefs. Griffin, however, admits that when she has informed her coworkers about how the swearing offends her, they have made efforts to avoid doing so in her presence—even Lareau. Despite that, things have deteriorated. Recently, Griffin and Lareau found themselves in a…