Female staffer ordered to dress provocatively and titillate men

The scenario: A female employee was ordered to change her appearance so she’d be more attractive to male customers. Her male supervisor recounted how he used to work at a car dealership with a “BMW girl” who was really young and pretty, who wore tight-fitting clothing and who was touchy-feely with male customers.

The woman said her boss wanted her to be just like the BMW girl, looking pretty and all dolled up, wearing fancy clothing and wooing male customers into a different stratosphere of customer service.

In an effort to comply with her boss’s wishes, the woman spent more than $1,000 on new clothing. Nevertheless, the 55-year-old woman said her boss continued to tell her that she wasn’t tantalizing enough and that she wasn’t “wow” enough. The woman said no one else working for the organization was asked to dress provocatively to attract male customers.

The woman had been with the company for nearly two years when she was accused of writing a fake check, then fired without a formal investigation.

Legal challenge: The woman sued for sex discrimination.

The ruling: The company lost. The court refused to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge said the woman provided ample evidence that she might have been dismissed because she was unwilling to titillate male customers. The court also said the employer failed to adequately investigate the allegation of check fraud before dismissing the staffer.

The skinny: Of course you want your people to have a professional appearance, but be careful about requiring women to dress provocatively to titillate male customers – it’s a surefire way to become embroiled in a costly discrimination lawsuit.

Cite: Yuliano v. Central Park West Orthodontics, Supreme Court of New York, 2025 NY Slip Op. 31427, 4/22/25.

(From the June 6, 2025, issue of HR Managers Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)