The Obama Administration, which harps on its “War on Women” meme, has a war on women of its own: the EEOC is now investigating the coffee chain Marylou’s because the chain hires pretty young women dressed in pink to hawk its product. The investigators have been asking the female clerks about their co-workers’ gender, age, race and body type for over a year.
The company’s founder, Marylou Sandry wrote state Sen. John F. Keenan (D-Quincy): “We have never had a complaint against us for age discrimination or any kind of discrimination. We feel that the EEOC is on a witch hunt.” Keenan said he wouldn’t get involved, and EEOC officials would not comment.
Katherine J. Michon, a Boston lawyer who handles discrimination cases, said that the government is going after the coffee chain hard:
“It sounds like they’re trying to explore every possible protected category to see if there is a race-discrimination case, a sex-discrimination case or an age-discrimination case … whether people are being chosen for the position because they’re white, young and female.”
Marylou’s said the investigation was triggered by Marylou’s local TV ads, where pretty young baristas danced and sang Marylou’s bluesy jingle.
Sandry defended her company’s actions:
“Attractive is in the eye of the beholder. They’re just all fun, upbeat girls,” It’s the personality. It’s the way you’re treated. That’s what we reach out for. It’s all shapes and sizes and colors.”
Another politician was more friendly to Marylou’s. State Sen. Robert L. Hedlund, who is planning to contact the local congressmen, blasted the EEOC as “a meddlesome, overblown, intrusive federal agency.” He questioned the EEOC’s attitude regarding Marylou’s: “Why, because they haven’t hired old overweight men who want to wear a pink T-shirt and serve coffee? The federal government has better things to do with my tax dollars than to harass a legitimate business.”
Apparently not. The Obama Administration has targeted business on virtually every account, including letting businesses sell their product the most effective way possible. But the cynical question really is, why doesn’t Barack Obama target all the major businesses that feature nubile young women to sell their product — like every major sports organization that uses cheerleaders — and instead target a small business?
Pick on the little guy. That’s the Obama way. And he whines about bullies?
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