Rogers v. American Airlines (1981)

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Fine Braids, Dimma (13307706094)

Rogers v. American Airlines, Inc. (1981) is a landmark legal case in the realm of employment discrimination, civil rights, and personal appearance policies in the workplace. The case was brought before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where the plaintiff, Renee Rogers, an employee of American Airlines, challenged the airline's grooming policy as discriminatory. This policy prohibited employees from wearing an all-braided hairstyle, which Rogers argued was an expression of her African-American cultural and ethnic identity.

Background

Renee Rogers, a black woman, was employed as a flight attendant by American Airlines. The airline's grooming policy at the time prohibited employees from wearing their hair in braids, which the company categorized under "extreme and unusual" hairstyles. Rogers contended that this policy was discriminatory against black women, as braiding is a traditional hairstyle that holds cultural significance and is a common method for managing the natural texture of African-American hair.

Case

Rogers filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that the company's grooming policy was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Rogers argued that the policy was racially discriminatory because it disproportionately affected black employees and was not applied equally to employees of all races.

Decision

The court ruled in favor of American Airlines, finding that the company's grooming policy did not violate Title VII. The court reasoned that the policy applied equally to all employees, regardless of race, and that it was within the employer's rights to establish grooming standards for its employees. The court also noted that Title VII was not intended to cover disputes over personal appearance policies unless they had a direct and unjustified impact on employees of a particular race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Impact

The decision in Rogers v. American Airlines has been a subject of debate and analysis in the fields of employment law, civil rights law, and cultural studies. Critics argue that the ruling overlooks the cultural and racial implications of grooming policies and their potential to discriminate against certain groups of employees. The case has been cited in subsequent legal challenges to workplace appearance policies, particularly those that may disproportionately affect employees from specific racial or ethnic backgrounds.

See Also

• Employment discrimination
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Workplace discrimination
• Cultural identity