Opinion

Manager claims boss asked her to dye gray hair WORKING: A price to pay for being gray?

Sandra Rawline says she has been gray since her 20s and likes her natural color. She says she was told to dye her hair, which she refused to do, and was fired from Capital Title of Texas for that. CEO Bill Shaddock calls her allegations preposterous. less Sandra Rawline says she has been gray since her 20s and likes her natural color. She says she was told to dye her hair, which she refused to do, and was fired from Capital Title of Texas for that. CEO Bill ... more Photo: Patrick T. Fallon:, Chronicle Photo: Patrick T. Fallon:, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Manager claims boss asked her to dye gray hair 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Sandra Rawline started her career in the real estate industry as a receptionist, and she worked her way up to become an escrow officer and branch manager at Capital Title of Texas. But she believes that the years it took to get that experience did her in.

And the gray hair.

Rawline said her boss told her to dye her gray hair because the office was moving from Katy to the Galleria area and wanted a more upscale image for its new digs. She said she was also instructed to wear "younger fancy suits" and lots of fancy jewelry.

Rawline, 52, whose shoulder-length gray hair also has natural silver streaks, said the boss ordered the dye job on a Thursday afternoon in August 2009 — even offering to perform the coloring.

Rawline, who has been gray since her early 20s and likes her natural hair color, said she refused. And by the following Tuesday, she was told her services were no longer necessary and was replaced by a woman 10 years younger.

"This is who I am," said Rawline, who recently filed an age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in federal court in Houston.

Capital Title of Texas said in a statement that it didn't terminate Rawline because of her age or appearance, but because one of its customers no longer wanted to do business with her.

"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.

Company CEO Bill Shaddock said the allegations are "completely baseless and preposterous" on their face.

"I'd hire a 150-year-old individual if they were worthy," said Shaddock, adding that he has gray hair, too.

Rawline said Capital Title did not tell her of any performance complaints before or on the day she was terminated. Nor did it contest her application for unemployment benefits, according to Rawline.

"I don't think anyone should be embarrassed or humiliated for growing older," said Robert "Bigs" Dowdy, the Houston lawyer representing Rawline.

Real estate clients want to work with professionals based on their experience and ability to explain what's going on, Dowdy said, not on whether they dye their hair.

Eliot Tucker, an employment lawyer with Tucker, Vaughan, Gardner & Barnes in Houston, said employers have wide latitude to regulate the appearance of their employees, such as requiring uniforms, combed hair and tucked-in shirttails.

But they can't take what's known as an adverse employment action such as firing, demoting or moving employees to undesirable shifts based on age, sex, race, religion, national origin or disability, he said.

Tucker, who represents employers and employees and isn't involved in Rawline's case, said that if her account is accurate, it seems the motivation for her termination was her failure to alter her appearance to look younger - and that the supervisor might not have made the demand of a worker who was 25 or even 40.

Grooming issues in the workplace can get complicated.

Katherine Butler, an employment lawyer with Butler & Harris in Houston, recalled a gender discrimination case involving a bartender in a casino who was fired for not wearing makeup. An appeals court upheld the firing in 2006, ruling that the makeup rule didn't pose an unequal burden on female employees.

But Butler, who represents employees, said Rawline's case sounds like an example of the stereotyping that goes on at many workplaces. Many employers generally expect women to look good, she said, while they don't have the same expectations for men.

"It's pretty clear age is their concern," said Butler, who understands the underlying issue on a personal level. She dyes her own gray hair regularly but stopped for a couple of years and let it go natural. She tired of people asking if she would like a senior discount.

Rawline, who said her choice of clothes - typically a businesslike blouse and trousers or a suit - had never come up since she joined Capital Title in 2003. Neither had her gray hair.

"I was really working hard for them," said Rawline, who supervised four employees and received "outstanding employee" awards in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, Rawline was promoted from escrow officer to branch manager, which included an $8,000 raise that brought her salary to $48,000 a year.

Her job was to close real estate transactions, which requires coordination among buyers, sellers, lenders, insurance companies and real estate agents. Her main account was a builder that generated 35 to 40 closings a month.

Rawline never found a similar position since her termination two years ago. Today she's working in customer service and earning about $30,000 a year.

lm.sixel@chron.com