Model employees.

There's something about Elizabeth Nill. At no fewer than three Abercrombie & Fitch stores, she says, managers have offered her a job. "Every time this happens, my little sister says, 'Not again,'" says Nill, a college sophomore who is 5-foot-6 and striking, with long blond hair.

Abercrombie's aggressive approach to hiring an attractive sales force is an example of what industry experts say is a growing trend: Businesses are openly seeking workers who are sexy, sleek, or simply good-looking. In doing so, some of those companies have been skirting the edges of antidiscrimination laws and provoking a wave of lawsuits, like one accusing Abercrombie of favoring whites over Hispanics, Asians, and blacks for sales-floor jobs. Abercrombie strongly denies bias but acknowledges seeking workers who took great and fit its "classic American" image. But the line can be very hard to draw.

"People's views on what's attractive may be influenced by their race, their religion, their age," says Stephen J. Roppolo, a lawyer who represents many hotels and restaurants. "I tell employers that their main focus needs to be hiring somebody who can get the job done."