The beauty bias

CNN: 

Can a boss fire an employee he finds attractive because he and his wife, fairly or not, see her as a threat to their marriage?

Yes, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

"The question we must answer is ... whether an employee who has not engaged in flirtatious conduct may be lawfully terminated simply because the boss views the employee as an irresistible attraction," Justice Edward M. Mansfield wrote for the all-male high court.

Such firings may not be fair, but they do not constitute unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, the decision read, siding with a lower court.

... 

What this attractive employee learned is that there is also something of a beauty bias at the courthouse too.  In preparing witnesses, particularly if they are a party in the case, I made it a point to tell attractive women not to play up their assets.  They should wear dark colored suits with a white blouse.  Usually they should wear their hair back and if they have glasses they should wear them.  The bias goes into the jury box too where there is potential jealousy by other females.  Sometimes life is not fair, but other times attractive women have some obvious advantages.  I had no trouble hiring them as long as they could do good work and I made sure others left them alone.