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This Week's Tip: Different Dress Codes for Men and Women
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This Week's Tip: Different Dress Codes for Men and Women
Can you have different dress and appearance standards for men and
women? Believe it or not, the answer usually is yes. |
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This Week's Tip: Different
Dress Codes for Men and Women
Many employers have questions about dress codes, and in particular,
whether dress codes can specify different rules for the appearance of
men and women. For example, can employers prohibit male employees
from wearing earrings or having long hair?
As a general rule, the answer is yes, as long as those differences
reflect
current social norms. Below you will find out what the courts have said
about this issue and get tips on implementing a dress code.
* Dress Codes and the Law *
Here is a quick overview of the legal issues. When an employer's dress
code differentiates between male and female employees, the charge
often has been made that a gender specific requirement constitutes sex
discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(Title VII).
However, generally, the courts do not require that you treat both sexes
by the exact same rules. Instead, they have ruled only that both sexes,
when in similar situations, should be held to the same overall standard.
As an example, you might say that all office employees with customer
contact (regardless of sex) must present a well-groomed, professional
appearance. The standard is uniform but the actual rules may
accommodate sex-based differences, such as different hair lengths or
clothes designs.
It is a well-settled principle of law that dress requirements that
reflect
current social norms typically have been upheld, even when they affect
only one sex. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined over
twenty years ago in Carroll v. Talman Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n,
604 F.2d 1028 (7th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 929 (1980) that
employers do not have to apply identical dress or grooming standards to
men and women when the differences are justified by social norms.
Applying the same logic, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found, in
Fountain v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 555 F.2d 753 (9th Cir. 1977), that a
grocery chain did not violate Title VII because it required only male
employees to wear a tie.
Also, in the same vein, policies prohibiting male employees from wearing
earrings, but allowing women to wear them, generally have been upheld.
For example, the court in Kleinsorge v. Eyeland Corp., 81 FEP Cases
1601 (E.D. Pa.), aff'd 251 F.3d 153 (3d Cir. 2000), found that minor
differences in personal appearance codes that reflect customary modes
of grooming do not constitute sex discrimination. Therefore, the
employer's request that a male employee not wear earrings, when
female employees were allowed to so, did not violate Title VII.
* Ban on Long Hair for Males *
Men generally have not been successful in claiming discrimination when
policies restrict long hair for them only. In fact, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) typically does not pursue such
charges. Most court decisions regarding male hair length have held that
male only standards are not sex discrimination.
For example, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Harper v.
Blockbuster Entertainment, 139 F.3d 1385 (11th Cir.), cert. denied 525
U.S. 1000 (1998), acknowledged the EEOC's position and found that the
employer's policy prohibiting long hair for male employees did not
violate
Title VII.
* Dress Codes That Impose a Burden *
Dress codes that have no basis in social customs, that differentiate
significantly between men and women, or that impose a greater burden
on women usually are not upheld. For example, again in Carroll v.
Talman Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n, 604 F.2d 1028 (7th Cir. 1979),
cert. denied, 445 U.S. 929 (1980), the employer's policy requiring all
female tellers, office workers, and managerial employees to wear a
uniform was found to be discriminatory because male employees in the
same positions only were required to wear customary business attire.
Be aware, too, that at least one state, California, prohibits employers
(with some exceptions) from implementing a dress code that does not
allow women to wear pants in the workplace. |
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FREE download – Dress Code
Policy
Includes personal grooming and hygiene standards
http://www.ppspublishers.com/ez/ezdcdress.htm?s=t2
Try a free sample of the model language, expert analysis, and legal
documentation used extensively by our Personnel Policy Manual service
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Go to:
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* Be Practical and Consistent
*
As a practical matter, you actually have a lot of leeway in regulating
employee work dress and appearance. Bottom line, if a dress code is
established for business reasons and applied uniformly, it generally
will
not violate employee civil rights, even if it has different standards
for
men and women.
That said, your dress code should not differentiate between men and
women without good reason. To stay on solid legal ground, your rules
should reflect current social norms, business needs, and safety
requirements. And finally to foster better employee acceptance, you
should explain the underlying rationale and legal basis for your policy.
Your employees may not like your position any better, but at least they
should understand your intent and purpose. |
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Subscribers to the
Personnel Policy
Manual and HR Policy Answers on
CD can find more information about dress code policies and
discrimination in Personal Appearance of Employees, Chapter 802,
notes 9 and 11. For tips on drafting dress codes, see
Personal
Appearance of Employees, Chapter 802, note 1.
If you do not subscribe to the Personnel Policy Manual or CD service,
and you'd like to use it free for 30 days to see if you like it, go to:
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