Dress Code in the Workplace, Research Paper Example

Laws and rules often exist to set uniform standards for everyone and to create an environment of equity. Laws and rules also provide guidance regarding the expected behaviors and norms. But laws and rules cannot afford to ignore basic rights afforded to individuals by the society or the constitution. Workplace rules are no exceptions and while our constitutional laws continue to be upgraded to reflect the emerging challenges, some issues are such by nature that law can only provide guidelines instead of definite instructions to deal with such issues. While there is no law that specifically deals with the dress code rules in professional environments, the constitution does provide guidance to the employers that could help them avoid employee lawsuits.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 prohibits employers from intentional discrimination and covers even American and American-controlled employers operating abroad (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Most of the employee lawsuits regarding dress code often claim either harassment or discrimination. Thus, the employers can take certain measures to avoid potential instances of discrimination regarding dress code rules. First of all, employers should not require dress codes that may result in sexual harassment of employees either by work colleagues or the customers unless the employer can prove that the dress code is necessary for the business. Employers should also avoid dress codes that differ greatly from the social norms or place undue burden on one or both genders. Requiring different dress codes is fine as long as the differentiations are in compliance with the society norms or do not place greater burden on one gender as compared to the other (DelPo).

U.S. constitution guarantees all citizens the right to practice their respective faiths. The workplace laws often require employers to accommodate religiously-inspired dress code unless doing so hampers the ability of the employees to do their job properly or seriously harms the interests of the business in other ways. As long as allowing a religious artifact does not place undue burden on the employer, the employer has an obligation to accommodate religious attires such as beard by Muslims (DelPo) or skullcap by Jews. Similarly, employees cannot be discriminated for dresses that may reflect their national origins if the employer may have no particular dress code and other employees also dress as they see fit or the employer doesn’t have a valid business reason.

The employers should also accommodate employees who may have a certain health issue or disability if the required dress code places an undue burden on the employee but doesn’t serve a valid business reason. The employer can also refuse if accommodating the dress requirement of an employee with a health or disability issue may impose undue financial burden on the employer (DelPo).

The employer cannot also discriminate against employees for wearing union insignia or an organizational membership artifact for as long as the dress, insignia, or artifact doesn’t pose safety threats, hampers the ability of an employee to do his job properly, or harm the business interests of the organization. This type of discrimination has been specifically prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act  (LegalMatch). The employers also have a right to ban dress attire that may hurt the image of the company. These include body piercings and tattoos except those that are socially acceptable such as earrings by women. The only case in which the employee may have a right to display tattoo or wear certain jewellery is where his religious affiliation requires so (DelPo).

The above arguments can help us formulate a rough guideline of what could be considered a reasonable dress code by any particular employer. First of all, the dress code should advance a compelling business interest such as a consistent image of the company. Such business interests may justify requiring a particular uniform of the employees because it helps customers identify the employees of the company and also helps the company project a consistent message. Similarly, the dress code should reflect the needs and standards of the profession. This means that requiring a white coat in the lab and business suit in an investment firm will constitute an appropriate dress code (Burgess Law Office, 2010).

Similarly, when there are safety concerns, the employer can impose a particular dress code which may help keep the employees safer. An example would be a steel-toe boot at construction sites (Burgess Law Office, 2010). Thus, any compelling reason that makes the workplace safer or more accommodating is also a ground for requiring particular dress code. In short, the dress code should be in line with social or professional norms, helps advance business interests, doesn’t violate employees’ individual rights unless there is a compelling reason, and helps accommodate employees’ unique needs for as long as those needs do not get in the way of the job or impose undue burden on the employer.

Employers can take several steps to ensure cooperation from the employees and avoid possible lawsuits. The first thing is to create an atmosphere of equity. Even though the employer can mandate different dress codes for both genders, exempting one gender from dress code while requiring other to follow a particular dress code will be an act of discrimination. The employer should ensure that same rules apply to everyone, thus, no one feels they are being specifically targeted. If the employees feel everyone is being subjected to same or similar rules, they are more likely to accept it unless it violates one of their fundamental individual right. Creating an environment of equity also means that the management also complies with the company’s dress code rules. If someone in the management disregards dress code rules, it will send a negative message to the subordinates and they are less likely to treat dress code rule as a fair requirement of the job.

The employers may also try to explain to employees why a dress code is being required. For example, the company may think that uniform helps send a positive message to customers or that uniform allow employees to save money on workplace dressing. It may also be that a particular dress code reflects the values of the organization or is a gesture of respect towards customers. A business that serves Orthodox Jews or Muslims may benefit from requiring a conservative dress code at work. Similarly, a dress code also signals the business of the company. Employees in nursing attire send the message that their employer is a healthcare provider. If employees understand the reason behind a particular dress code, they are more likely to embrace the dress code as well as cooperate with the management.

In order to ensure that employees know exactly as to what dress attires are acceptable, the management should provide proper guideline in written format which could be accessed by anyone. This will prevent the need to second guess the company’s dress code. The dress code policy should also include exceptions so that employees know that there are accommodations for valid reasons. Similarly, the management should try to explain terms in the dress code policy that are general in nature and could be interpreted in different ways by different employees.

The companies should realize that dress codes could also be utilized to increase employees’ loyalty. When we read about innovative Silicon Valley companies such as Facebook and Google, one of the things insiders often mention is their company’s loose and informal dress code policy that allows them to be who they are. A survey of 1,000 workers in the U.K. revealed that a third of workers claimed a casual dress code would boost productivity and nearly two-thirds felt it would make them happier (The MotivAction Group, 2011). If we look over the past few decades, many work practices have gone under a huge transformation and due to the intensity of competition, the focus has been shifting to performance and away from rules. Promotion was once an outcome of seniority and work experience but now it is often determined by performance and one’s future potential. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that dress codes will become more relaxed over time as companies realize that relaxed dress codes increase employee satisfaction as well as loyalty to the organization.

The constitution doesn’t deal directly with the dress codes but it does provide indirect guidelines which could be followed by employers to avoid potential lawsuits. When in doubt, it is always a good policy to consult a legal counsel. The management can increase employees’ acceptance of the company’s dress code policy by creating an environment of equity, explaining the purpose of a particular dress code to the employee, and ensuring that it provides exceptions or reasonable accommodations to individual employees when there is a valid reason.

References

Burgess Law Office. (2010, June 29). Dress code in the workplace. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from http://www.burgesslawoffice.com/blog/dress-code-in-the-workplace/

DelPo, A. (n.d.). Dress Codes and Grooming Codes in the Workplace. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dress-codes-grooming-codes-workplace-35459.html

LegalMatch. (n.d.). Workplace Dress Codes & Appearance Lawyers. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/workplace-dress-codes–appearance.html

The MotivAction Group. (2011, February 01). Relax dress codes at work as incentives and recognition for better productivity, says research. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from http://www.motivaction.co.uk/news/Relax-dress-codes-at-work-as-incentives-and-recognition-for-better-productivity,-says-research-800378427.news

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). The Civil Rights Act of 1991. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/civilrights.html