UPDATE: U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller tossed Rawline's case from court in June 2012, writing, "The court finds absolutely no evidence that Rawline’s age was a motivating factor for her discharge. Any reference to Rawline’s hair color occurs only in the context of her overall disheveled appearance and offers no support for Rawline’s allegation that Capital Title intentionally discriminated against her because of her age."
PREVIOUSLY: A Texas woman is suing her former employer, claiming that she lost her job for refusing to dye her gray hair, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Before the Capital Title of Texas office moved to a nicer part of town two years ago, Sandra Rawline, 52, was told to change her hair color -- her boss even offered to do it for her, sport "younger" suits and invest in fancier jewelry. Rawline declined and was dismissed from her post by the following week, reportedly replaced by a younger woman.
However, Capital Title tells a different tale, saying one of the company's clients didn't want to work with Rawline:
"Since the customer refused to work with her any longer, there would be no job left for her," according to the statement, which did not detail reasons for the customer's preference. The company added that three employees who are 64 years old still work with the customer.
Rawline's age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit is currently pending in Houston federal court.
And she isn't the first nor the last woman to complain about in-office requests to alter her appearance.
Just last week, former Harrods sales assistant Melanie Stark told the Guardian that she was forced to quit after the luxury department store demanded that she wear a full face of makeup for her shifts.
Stark explained, "I was appalled. It was insulting. Basically, it was implying it would be an improvement. I don't understand how they think it is OK to say that. I know what I look like with makeup. I have used it, though never at work. But I just could not see how, in this day and age, Harrods could take away my right to choose whether to wear it or not."
The Daily Mail then summed up the scenario as: "British workers don't want to make an effort."
Tell us what you think in the comments. And read more at Chron.com.