Los Angeles Employment Lawyer

Workplace Dress Code

Employers coming up with rules for their workplaces are often faced by challenges concerning dress code. The concerns expressed by various employers reflect an unwillingness of violating the various discrimination laws while they also attempt to reconcile the desire to have a “neat and businesslike” look to the office or workplace.

In the private sector, the right to dress their own way is really limited. In addition, a right to privacy is nearly non-existent when it comes to enforcing a dress code. Employees need to understand that their privacy rights have not been violated when an employer requires a certain style of dress, hair length, or limitation on jewelry. While federal courts have almost always found the enforcement of a dress code not to be an example of race, sex, or religious discrimination, there are, of course, exceptions.

A number of federal courts recognize that up to 20% of African American men suffer from a skin disease that prevents them from shaving. These courts have determined that it may be racial discrimination to refuse to hire or to terminate an individual’s employment because they cannot shave, even in light of a neutrally applied “no beards” policy. If an individual’s beard is neat and there isn’t a business need for a clean shave, employers should not require men with severe PFB to shave.

In addition, federal courts have found that women who have been told to wear revealing clothes when there is no bonafide job requirement for doing so are the victims of sexual discrimination. Courts have also held that employers have an absolute right to establish and enforce different grooming requirements for men and women.

Employers may have different grooming standards for men and women but an employer’s failure to enforce the policy “even handedly” between male and female employees could result in a sex discrimination claim.

Employees required to wear certain clothes because of their religion may also have some protection. A federal district court in Pennsylvania refused to dismiss an employee’s lawsuit that claimed that her religion forbade her from wearing pants at work. The judge required the employer to demonstrate that it reasonably attempted to accommodate the employee’s religious beliefs.

Contact a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer

If you have been a victim of discrimination due to an employer’s dress code policies, contact Los Angeles employment lawyer Perry Smith at 1-800-356-2529 to discuss your case and to determine any legal options.