Applicant didn’t have the ‘Disney look’
July 11, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Hiring, In This Week's E-Newsletter, Latest News & Views, Law
Need more proof that stray comments by hiring managers can get companies in big legal trouble? Try this million-dollar lawsuit against Disney.
A man applied for a job at Disney World playing trumpet in the park’s annual Christmas show. As a practicioner of the Sikh religion, he was required to wear a Turbin and keep a full beard.
He was turned down for the job and told he didn’t have “the Disney look.” So he filed a lawsuit, claiming religious discrimination.
Experts aren’t sure what chance Disney has of fighting the suit. On one hand, the company might have a case if it can show he couldn’t have been hired because he was unable to follow the position’s strict uniform guidelines.
But on the other hand, commenting on an applicant’s “look” is rarely a good idea. We’ll keep you posted as the case moves forward.
Tags: Disney, hiring bias, hiring manager, look, religious discrimination, Sikh, stray remarks
December 12th, 2008 at 11:54 am
I think Disney has a chance of winning this one. They have a very strict dress code prohibiting tatoos, piercings, oddly dyed hair, etc. and if this man couldn’t (or wouldn’t) alter his appearance to fit within the constraints of that dress code then Disney has a valid argument for not hiring.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
True, Melanie, if they had asked him if he would be willing or able to change his appearance and he said no. From the story, it seems as if they never asked him those types of questions and rejected him for his “look”. If Disney can prove they asked him a set of questions about his willingness to abide by the dresscode and he refused, then they can be sued. Also, if they assumed that he wouldn’t be able to conform to the dresscode, but didn’t ask him, I think his case could win.
August 7th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
If your religion requires you to wear a turban and full beard, he should have been asked if he would give up his religion in order to work at Disney.