Do you want your employees to "look" like your company?
May, 2006
Do you feel that your professional environment should boast professional-looking employees? Or your advertising agency should reflect a more creative group with personal style?
The good news is that employers can have dress codes and grooming standards for their employees. You just need to make sure the rules are consistently applied to all employees.
In Jesperson v. Harrah's Operating Company, Inc., the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a prior decision that said it is not sex discrimination to ask that female employees be well groomed and wear tasteful make-up. This was because the same dress code also required the male employees to comply with the standard of being well groomed. The underlying policy was equal for both sexes and did not place an unfair burden on one or the other so as to treat them "differently" based on their gender.
Definite "no's":
- Requiring your female employees to maintain a certain weight, but not your male employees
- Requiring your male employees to keep their fingernails trimmed and hair short, but allowing women to adhere to no grooming standards
- Requiring your female employees to cover their tattoos, but not their male counterparts.
Probably safe list:
- Neutral dress code (requiring woman to wear tasteful make-up and men to maintain a "clean-cut" appearance).
- Limits on amount of jewelry employees can wear.
- Putting restrictions on "urban wear" for all employees.
The employer has a great deal of freedom in setting dress codes and appearance standards, but that doesn't mean you have free reign. The Jesperson decision seemed to hint that if the cost of maintaining the standards for one gender far outweighed the cost of the standards for the other gender, there may be some inherent discrimination in the policy. The Court did not go so far, however, as to define where that break point will be.
A good rule of thumb is to apply your company's appearance standard to both men and woman. If you have specific concerns or your company is a unique industry, it is probably a good idea to review your dress codes and appearance policies with your attorney.