June 23, 2005

Kozinski Won't Wear Makeup

by Sean Sirrine

I read an interesting article in the Law.Com newswire that I recieve. I was going to post over at Objective Justice, but I decided that I should keep my streak of writing about Judge Alex Kozinski alive over here.

The case revolves around whether an employee of Harrah's can be fired for not wearing makeup. During oral argument Kozinski does what he does best:

"What if you employed swim [instructors] and you required they wear bathing suits?" Kozinski asked Lambda Legal's Jennifer Pizer, who represents plaintiff Darlene Jespersen.

Highlighting a possible "burden," Kozinski said women have to wear different garments than men in order to cover their breasts. Plus, he said, "I think it's probably true that women's bathing suits are more expensive."

Pizer said that was an excellent example of what constituted a "reasonable business necessity," which she argues Harrah's does not have.

As is often the case, Kozinski fired hard-hitting questions at both sides. To demonstrate that the burden on male and female employees might not be "unequal," as Pizer argued, Kozinski pointed out there were standards for men, too.

Men have to keep their hair short and refrain from wearing makeup. The judge revealed that one of his male secretaries used to wear makeup because it made him feel more comfortable.

"I wouldn't be comfortable wearing makeup," Kozinski assured the packed courtroom.

June 23, 2005 03:12 PM | TrackBack
Comments

How about bringing back powdered wigs, etc, for judges and attorneys for courtroom wear? By the way, does Judge Kozinski always wear his robe when sitting?

Posted by: Shag from Brookline at June 23, 2005 05:08 PM
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