Luna Boutique had a dress code that required its male salespersons to wear slacks, a shirt, and a necktie.

Female salespersons were required to wear a black smock. Melissa, a female employee, refused to wear the smock. Instead, she reported to work in business attire, like the male staff, and was fired for violating the dress code. All other conditions of employment, including salary, hours, and benefits, were the same for female and male employees.

Was Luna Boutique’s dress code discriminatory? Yes.

Luna’s dress code policy was illegal discrimination on the basis of ______________. Unlike hair and grooming codes, which are based on established social expectations, there is no justifiable basis for women to wear smocks in a workplace. There is a tendency to believe that women wearing smocks have lower professional status than their male coworkers wearing business attire. Thus, the smock requirement perpetuated a ______________-based stereotype of inferiority. Therefore, the dress code policy violated ______________ ______________ of the Civil Rights Act.