Appeals Court Hears Makeup Case
by Mary Ellen Peterson 365Gay.com San Francisco Bureau


(San Francisco, California) The full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, today heard arguments in a case that could impact many lesbian, transgender and gender non-conforming workers. The case involves the firing of a woman who refused to wear makeup at work.

In August 2000, Darlene Jespersen was fired from her position as a bartender at Harrah's Casino in Reno, Nevada, after the company enacted a new dress code, called the "Personal Best" program, requiring all women in the beverage department to wear makeup, specified as foundation or powder, blush, lipstick and mascara, applied precisely the same way every day to match a photograph held by the supervisor.