Maybe a long, long time ago, in a far, far away place, folks used to tell women, “Oh, you can’t do that … it’s a man’s job.” And for whatever reason, it was acceptable. Maybe the work was too heavy, muddy or risky? But welcome to 2008, where jobs are no longer classified by gender. Better check to make sure your hiring managers understand that, too …

Case in Point: Gloria Sims was a substitute lunchroom worker at an Alabama school when a full-time position opened up. Her supervisor, however, informed her that it was a “man’s job” because it involved lots of heavy lifting.

Plus, he said, the school was looking to add a “little color” to the lunchroom. So it decided to hire a black male candidate with a high school diploma.

Sims sued, alleging race and gender discrimination. The school denied the claim, arguing that Sims didn’t hold a high school diploma as required for the position. Sims argued that the school didn’t consistently stick to that diploma policy.

Two weeks after Sims filed her claim, she applied for a position outside the school district. According to Sims, when her supervisor was contacted by the potential new employer, he gave her a negative and untruthful reference. She didn’t receive the offer. So Sims tacked on a relation claim to her race- and age-bias lawsuit. (Sims v. Coosa County Bd. of Educ., M.D. Ala., 9/2/08)

What happened next and what 3 lessons can be learned?

The court sided with Sims and sent the case to a trial. It said that the supervisor’s repeated statements that the lunchroom position was a “man’s job” provided direct evidence of sex discrimination under Title VII.

The court stated, “When a supervisor who plays a role in hiring states a preference for candidates of one sex, a reasonable jury could find that discriminatory animus infected the hiring decision.”

The court rejected the school’s argument that she wasn’t hired because of her lack of a high school diploma. In the past, the court noted, the school board had employed several lunchroom attendants who didn’t have high school diplomas.

3 Lessons Learned …Without Going to Court

1. Train everyone in the hiring process. Untrained supervisors can be dangerous hiring tools. Whether it is the receptionist who shakes hands with applicants or the supervisor who is part of the decision team, everyone must be properly trained to refrain from any comments or decisions based on protected characteristics, such as gender and race. As in this case, just one comment can land you in court.

2. Closely review your employment requirements. If you currently require an employee to have an educational degree but, in the past, have broken your own rule, the courts will point to that inconsistency if you try to use it as a valid defense to reject an applicant. In this case, the employer tried that “two-faced” defense and failed.

3. Don’t speak in code. In this case, the supervisor said he needed “a little color” in the lunchroom. While the court may have entertained the notion that the supervisor could be referring to “décor”—it is more likely that a reasonable jury will realize that such an expression is related to race.