Reading last week’s headlines about the case of Debrahlee Lorenzana, the New York banker claiming she was fired because her good looks distracted her male colleagues, raised an alarm as to the public’s various misconceptions of critical issues in workplace law. Here are just a few of them.
In one article, the author claimed that Lorenzana’s wrongful dismissal case against her employer sparked a debate over “workplace sexual harassment.” Turning this case into an issue of sexual harassment could indeed be an interesting development in workplace law – except that it is wrong.
Is it discriminatory to rely on looks when firing an employee? In another article, the author suggested that if Lorenzana was treated differently because of her appearance, it could constitute discrimination under human rights laws. This would also be a major development in human rights law, except that it is also wrong.
In my  Metro news article from this week, I discuss this in further detail.
Daniel A. Lublin is an employment lawyer with Whitten & Lublin LLP, which provides practical legal advice and advocacy for workplace issues. You can reach Daniel at [email protected]. For even more on workplace law, follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/danlublin.