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The Soapbox: Rants and Commentary:
I Can't Work, So Why Did You Fire Me?By Mike O'Leary(olearym@alpha.montclair.edu)About a month ago, Aaron Spelling (creator of such fare as Love Boat and Charlie's Angels) was found guilty of sexual harrassment against actress Hunter Tylo. It seems that this actress was hired to play a woman who was greatly enthralled by the company of men (i.e. slut) on the prime-time soap opera, "Melrose Place". The actress became pregnant after signing the contract, but before any scenes with her were shot. Mr. Spelling decided that Ms. Tylo's pregnancy would hinder his ability to portray her character as planned. Anyone who has seen a "Melrose Place" commercial knows that the show is very big on semi-nudity. She sued him, asserting that she had every right to get pregnant, and to keep her role on the show. In my opinion, when appearence (especially sex appeal) is at least half of your job, then the employer has every right to fire you when that changes. Now, I'm not trying to make Aaron Spelling look like a saint, nor am I trying to say this could or should be allowed in 99% of the jobs out there, but if some factor is integral to your job performance, then that should be considered when evaluating an employee. A simple analogy: If I am a fireman, or an athlete, or hold any position in which my physical strength is important, and I break my arm, then I can not work until that arm is healed. An even better analogy would be if it is a firewoman or a female athlete, and a pregnancy occurs which hinders the ability to do that job, that woman does not work until after the pregnancy has ended. The actress won her suit and made more money than the actress who replaced her for that part. I realize on a list of important issues, this probably lands third from the bottom. It just seems that this is another sign of how some people believe that they should be exempt from consequences of their actions, even if they inconvenience others. |
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