When you introduce the idea of a dress code at your workplace, your employees are not happy about it. They don’t want to change how they dress or adhere to any sort of regulations. Some of them may even claim that this is an illegal violation of their right to expression.
First and foremost, a dress code doesn’t necessarily violate their rights and isn’t inherently illegal. Many businesses require that employees wear business casual attire. Others will give employees certain shirts, pants or other uniform attire that they have to wear on the job. You can do this legally, but there are some mistakes you need to be sure to avoid, which could make it illegal.
A discriminatory dress code
The main thing to remember is that your dress code shouldn’t discriminate against any of your employees. It should affect them all in similar ways and shouldn’t have a disproportionate impact on any employee or group within a protected class.
One example is gender discrimination. Dress codes should apply to both male and female workers, not to one group or the other.
Another example is religious discrimination. A dress code can’t explicitly prohibit religious attire. Even when it makes more general prohibitions, such as saying that headwear is banned on the job, you need to ensure that it’s not only going to affect workers of a certain religion. They may still claim that it is discriminatory, even if non-religious workers are also technically obligated to follow it.
If you do find yourself involved in a dispute with some of your employees over their rights or how the dress code was applied, then it’s critical that you understand all of your legal options moving forward.