Employers and employees have many reasons for disagreements. One of them is when an employer wants to have a dress code and employees believe that it infringes on their rights. For example, an employee may say that they have the right to wear whatever they want because they have freedom of expression under the First Amendment.
Dress codes themselves, however, are not inherently illegal or a First Amendment violation. It is true that employees may not be happy about them, but employers can use dress codes. It’s just important to set them up correctly to ensure that they are not discriminatory.
How would discrimination happen?
The key is just to consider different groups of employees and ensure that the dress code applies to everyone in the same way.
First off, that means not overtly giving only one group of employees a dress code. For instance, it would certainly be a problem if female employees had a dress code that was very strict, but the male workers didn’t have a dress code at all.
Next, employers have to think about unintentional consequences. For instance, an employer may want to have a dress code that prohibits employees from wearing anything on their head. But if the employer is just doing this because some of the employees follow a religion that requires them to wear specific religious headwear, then the dress code would be discriminatory. It is true that all employees would be bound by the same regulations, but that rule would not impact non-religious employees in the same way
When you’re setting up a dress code or other rules for your business, it can help to have experienced legal guidance. This can help you avoid disputes and complications.