Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder

I came across this article today about discrimination in the workplace based on looks and how there should be a federal law against discriminating on looks same as there is for sex and age and disability. In the news recently has been a story about a former Citibank employee suing her former employer for discriminating against her because of her looks. When I first read the story, I didn't think much of it; people get fired for worse reasons. Not many people get fired for being too sexy and hot. But that story coupled with this article makes me think; how much do hiring and firing decisions depend on your looks. We all know that they play a factor but not how big of a factor. Would NASA hire an astronaut with less skills but who happens to be beautiful rather than the balding, fat guy or slightly overweight acne prone extremely qualified female? Would you sacrifice quality of work just to have a pretty face around? Unlike race or age or disability, looks is something that most people can change to a certain degree to make themselves more aesthetically pleasing. Even if a company hired someone for their looks if that person failed to perform the job properly and costs the company money, he would surely be fired. Nothing comes before the bottom line. Would you hire someone based on looks or fire someone who became unsightly due to weight gain or any other causes or would you base your decision on who is the best person for the job?