A case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of Darlene Jespersen against Harrah’s Casino was decided by the federal court April 14, 2006 in favor of Harrah's Casino. Employers who set different dress code and grooming standards for women and men do not violate sex discrimination laws.
Jespersen, a former bartender at Harrash's Casino, was terminated because she did not conform to the employer's requirement that she wear makeup, including lip color, mascara, blush, foundation.
The Ninth Circuit decided that grooming standards that appropriately discriminate between the genders are not facially discriminatory. Though putting on makeup and taking it off daily required more time and money for women than men, Jespersen submitted no evidence that the grooming standards for women posed greater burdens than those for men. Men were forbidden from wearing makeup, but were required to trim their hair and fingernails.
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