Can Employers Require Uniforms and Dress Codes?

Employers in California often want to require employees to wear uniforms or to abide by certain dress codes, which may also include personal grooming standards. If you want to require your employees to wear specific uniforms while they perform their work duties, or if you want to create a dress code or personal grooming standards to include in your policies, it is critical to understand your rights and responsibilities under California law.

Employers in California Must Pay for a Uniform and Cannot Deduct Uniform Costs from Employee Wages 

California law allows employers to require uniforms, but employers cannot require employees to pay for them. The law states: “If an employer requires that an employer wear a uniform, the employer must pay the cost of the uniform.” California law also clarifies that “the term ‘uniform’ includes wearing apparel and accessories of distinctive design and color.”

When a dress code begins to look like a uniform requirement, the employer can be subject to the restrictions cited above. For example, if a dress code requires employees to wear a certain color of pants to work, that dress code requirement may be construed as a uniform requirement and thus may mean that the employer is required to pay for the uniform, or a portion of the uniform.

Dress Codes and Personal Grooming Requirements Cannot Be Discriminatory

 Employers in California are permitted to have workplace policies concerning personal grooming, and may require or limit certain hairstyles, facial hair, jewelry, makeup, and other aspects of personal grooming as long as those policies do not discriminate on the bases prohibited by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). In addition, the employer can enforce the such workplace policies even if a personal grooming requirement or dress code “significantly burdens the individual in his or her employment.”

It is important to know that the FEHA was amended relatively recently to clarify that certain hairstyle prohibitions are discriminatory on the basis of race. In 2020, FEHA amendments known as the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair, or “CROWN Act,” took effect and clarified that certain hairstyles were protected from discrimination. The CROWN Act expressed that “traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles,” including “braids, locks, and twists,” cannot be prohibited by employers. In addition, any dress code or personal grooming requirements that would require employees to avoid such hairstyles could be discriminatory under the FEHA, such as a short hair requirement.

Employers can have dress codes or personal grooming requirements that are necessary for workplace safety, such as prohibiting jewelry or certain types of clothing. For example, if employees work in an area with heavy machinery, a necessary business policy established for safety purposes may allow the employer to require or prohibit certain types of clothing or dress in order to avoid injury from the equipment.

Contact an Employment Law Attorney in California 

If you have any questions about dress codes, uniform policies, or personal grooming requirements that you are planning to put into your workplace policies or to require of your employees, it is important to seek legal advice. By speaking with an attorney, you can take significant steps to avoid discrimination claims or violations of California law. Do not hesitate to get in touch with the California employment lawyers at Sloat Law Group for more information. We represent employers in Riverside County, Cathedral City, Coachella and Desert Hot Springs.

Sources:

dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_deductions.htm#:~:text=If%20an%20employer%20requires%20that,of%20distinctive%20design%20and%20color

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=12940.&lawCode=GOV