by Wacky & Tacky !
Member since:
January 23, 2007

Weird News - Woman fired for smelling too good?

October 05, 2007 10:56 AM EDT
views: 427 | comments: 25

Have you ever been next to someone that is wearing so much perfume that you feel like gagging? 

A New York woman says she lost her job at a Long Island, N.Y., customer service center for wearing too much perfume.  Her co-workers had frequently complained about her and her employer, Mindpearl, decided to fire her in February after she received three customer complaints against her in one week. 

Jorinda Sullivan, 24, is fighting back by claiming that the firing was race-based and filed complaints with the New York Division of Human Rights, as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She is also suing her former employer, Mindpearl, for $1 million for racial discrimination.

Now I am one to question the need for women to wear perfume to work in the first place.  Is this a substitute for good hygiene?  Is there a need to be sexy at work?  Me, I enjoy that good ole clean Ivory smell myself!  Save that stinky stuff for the club!

 http://www.nypost.com/seven/10012007/news/regionalnews/lost_job__over_my_perfume.htm
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Comments: 25

Michelle W. Oct 5, 2007, 10:59am EDT
I am sorry, but people, men and women alike, should use cologne and perfume sparingly. A little goes a long way! Many people are allergic to certain smells and it will give them an instant migraine. My daughter is one of those. I have to watch what perfumes I use if I am going to be around her. I also cannot stand to walk by someone who absolutely reeks of perfume. It makes me wonder if they didn't take a bath or shower and are trying to cover up their bad body odor.
Juan J Martinez Oct 5, 2007, 11:03am EDT
Another idiotic lawsuit clogging up the justice system. There is no need for wearing perfume in a business environment unless you work at cosmetic and perfume counter.
Brandea M. Oct 5, 2007, 11:13am EDT
I think its okay to wear perfume to work, as long as you don't over do it. The best type to wear is something lightly scented, not too strong. I have a friend who doesn't wear perfume at all, but, she puts fabric softener sheets in her clothing to keep it smelling nice.
I guess I don't understand how her using too much perfume can be race based. I hate when people use perfume in abundance. I hate perfume in general- I use body sprays, which lack the chemical scent perfume tends to have.

People in customer service should always be aware that their hygeine should be palpatable to the masses- that means brush your teeth, wash your hair, and use soap & shampoo- not perfume, to do it!
J R B. Oct 5, 2007, 11:20am EDT
I cannot stand the cheap strong perfumes, especially 'Evening in Paris', I was on a bus standing when I was overcomed with this perfume. I started to fall and another passenger caught me. I am extremely allergic to this scent.
Another woman in church feels she has to pour the perfume on. I sit in the opposite side of the church. There should be a limit to how much is used in the workplace.
Allana G. Oct 5, 2007, 11:32am EDT
Well, if they started to harrass her about her shampoo and soap,too, as the article suggests, she might be right about their using this to cover up racism.
Marianne R. Oct 5, 2007, 11:42am EDT
I'm allergic to many of the floral perfumes. So when someone has too much on, I actually have to leave the area. I am curious though, how is being fired for perfume wearing a racial statment. Isn't it more of a gender one? Of course, I have been around my fair share of men who bathed in their cologne. So it works both ways.
james r. Oct 5, 2007, 11:49am EDT
almost any amount of that crap gives me a headach!!!
Juan J Martinez Oct 5, 2007, 11:51am EDT
This in no way has anything to do with race. This had to do with a woman, who had no judgment, when dealing with what is or isn't the right and appropriate amount of perfume to wear in a business environment.
The Red Headed Witch of Gather G. Oct 5, 2007, 12:23pm EDT
I have terrible allergies so if I worked with this woman, I'd be glad she got fired. That probably makes me mean.
Lavonne www.bildurdreams.com Oct 5, 2007, 1:10pm EDT
When wearing perfume or cologne, we need to remember a little goes a long way. I work with a few people that smoke and spray it on when they come back from their cigarette break to "mask" the smell. Sometimes I almost gag when they go by due to the overwhelming smell.

As far as it having to do with race, there are lawyers out there that are willing to turn anything into anything just to get the money. It just boggles up the court system.
Army Man . Oct 5, 2007, 1:25pm EDT
Since the customers were also complaining, I think it probably had little to do with internal office racism.

IMHO, women smell good without all that perfume. I think that it is a marketing ploy.
Holly J. Oct 5, 2007, 2:07pm EDT
How in the heck was it race?

I think ALL customer service people should be fired for wearing any purfume, let along a lot of it. They deal with customers the most, many of which could possibley be allergic to that scent.

I've complained MANY times to bosses or managers because of an employee wearing to much purfume. I'm paying money to shop in thier store or eat at their resturant, and I shouldn't be forced to leave because someone likes how the smell to much. If you want to smell your own purfume, spray some under you nose.
Joe T. Oct 5, 2007, 2:14pm EDT
I'm allergic to perfume and would be forced to leave a store with perfume odor in it. My sinuses start up and then I choke up and have to sit and wait for awhile to regain myself. It is embarrassing but it is what I go through when I pass someone who is wearing perfume or cologne. So, maybe, she was a health hazard.
Whitney A. Oct 5, 2007, 3:36pm EDT
I think that if you wear perfume while at work, you should use it sparingly, as many people are allergic to certain types of perfume. I don't understand how this lawsuit can be race-based when there were complaints from her co-workers and customers.
I too am affected badly by some of the strong scents of perfumes and colognes. I will even sometimes react when passing one of those candle stores or the ones that sell body lotions/shampoos/conditioners in all the same scent.
I'm not sure if they should fire her without warning, but had she been warned previously, I would be all for her dismissal as the other people and customers have their rights also.
Janet H. Oct 5, 2007, 3:52pm EDT
I am allergic to purfume and it causes me big problems to be around it. I don't think that someone who works with the public should wear perfume unless its something really light. And what does that have to do with race?
queen.susan . Oct 5, 2007, 7:13pm EDT
I find it offensive when someone wears so much "fragrance".
Especially in the work place!
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Lance L. Oct 5, 2007, 7:20pm EDT
With very few exceptions any business that has a customer service base also has a SOP for dress and hygiene. She was obviously ignoring the rules to fit her own perception, just as she's doing with the racial suit.
Rick C. Oct 6, 2007, 11:36am EDT
Working with the public I almost gag at times from the amount of purfume that some people wear. This could hurt business. After being told by her supervisor, she should have got the hint and stopped not changed purfumes.
JoAnne D. Oct 6, 2007, 12:25pm EDT
Too much of a good thing, just as bad sometimes as not enough.
Joella B. Oct 7, 2007, 1:24am EDT
I am sure this person was fired after having been warned to either cut down or stop wearing perfume altogether. She probably filed the court case because she thought it would be easy money. There are a large number of people out there who have problems being around strong smells or have serious allergies to certain scents. These days almost every hospital I have been in says that it is illegal to wear ANY scented product at work even scented soap.
Roger H. Oct 13, 2007, 10:10pm EDT
I am sure the company covered themselves in this one. If they documented the complaints and she failed to follow what her boss told her to do, she had every right to be fired. Like someone said above me, many people are allergic to certain scents. I used to work with a lady that was like that, and can understand how frustrating it can be for the other workers (not first hand although).
Clare Stella Oct 23, 2007, 3:08am EDT
I would rather smell perfume than someone who reeks of cigarette smoke.
Kelly M. Oct 12, 2008, 1:38pm EDT
Some perfumes make me physically ill = so I understand where her co-workers were coming from

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