Marcus, a prolific shoe buyer, refuses to be assisted by male store clerks. the owner of your shoe town, therefore, informs his staff that only female employees should attend to marcus because he does not want to anger a patron of his store. one of the male clerks, austen, believes that this is illegal gender discrimination. also, since part of his incentive pay is based on meeting the monthly sales target, he feels that this policy illegally denies him the opportunity to earn incentives because of his gender. is austen correct?

a) yes, because gender can never be a bona fide occupational qualification.

b) no, because gender-based customer preferences are legitimate business concerns.

c) yes, because customer preference is not a legitimate and protected reason to treat otherwise-qualified employees differently based on gender.

d) no, because your shoe town is a private employer, and title vii of the civil rights act of 1964 does not apply to private employers