2021
- Denial of Work-From-Home Requests: A New Era of Discrimination?
- April Showers Bring
- Restrictions on Employee Social Media
- Can Employees Be Forced to Get the Covid-19 Vaccination?
2020
- Holidays...To Pay or Not to Pay, What is Required
- EEOC Update on COVID-19
- Protection of Employee Health Information
- Civil Rights Win for LGBTQ Employees
- OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- The Line Between At-Will Termination and Wrongful Termination
- Regulating Firearms in the Workplace
- Social Media Use in Hiring
2019
2018
- What Not to Wear
- Vicarious Liability for Unlawful Harrassment
- Employee Surveillance & Union Formation
- A Lesson in Retaliation
- Employers May Sometimes Judge a Book By Its Cover
- Mind Your P’s and Q’s . . . and BFOQs
- Severance Agreements
- U.S. Department of Labor "Paid" Program
- Revisiting Records Retention
- Calculating the Regular Rate
- Independent Contractor or Employee?
2017
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- DRI Membership: It’s Personal
- Is Extended Leave a Reasonable Accommodation?
- Parental Leave
- Pay Disparity
- Religious accomodation in the workplace
- Equal pay and prior salary information
- I quit! How to avoid constructive discharge
- You Can't Shred Email
- Navigating Unemployment Claims
- Considering Criminal History in Pre-Employment Decisions
- Defamation Claims from Former Employees
- Mixed Motive Causation
2016
- Requesting Accomodation: Kowitz v. Trinity Health
- Antitrust Law in Human Resources
- An Evolving Standard: Joint-Employment
- What Does At-Will Employment Mean for Employers?
- Let's Talk About Wages
- THE FLSA: CHANGES ARE COMING
- Follow Up: Obesity and the ADA
- The Importance of Social Media Policies
- Is Obesity a Qualifying Disability under the ADA?
- Retaliation on the Rise: The EEOC Responds
- What Motivates You?
2015
- "But I thought ...
- Who’s expecting? And what is he expecting?
- Are You Still Doing Annual Performance Reviews?
- Who is Your Employee?
- The unpaid intern trap Part II
- “We’ve been the victim of a cyber-attack”
- So, a Hasidic Jew, a nun in a habit and a woman wearing a headscarf walk into your office?
- The unpaid intern trap
- Pregnancy in the workplace
- Let's talk about honesty.
- "Did You Know" Series - Part I
- Conducting an Internal Investigation
- What HR can look forward to in 2015!
2014
- The chokehold of workplace technology
- Does your company have trade secrets?
- North Dakota Construction Law Compendium for 2014
- Does the North Dakota baby boom affect you?
- Ban the Box? Why?
- The end of the world as we know it
- Everybody has an opinion
- Changes, Changes, Changes!
- Nick Grant presents at North Dakota Safety Council's 41st Annual Safety and Health Conference
- Email impairment: A potentially harmful condition
- Are Employers Required to Give Stressed-Out Employees Time Off?
2013
- Can you obtain a credit report when investigating employee wrongdoing?
- Can’t we just sidestep the ACA?
- Should Your Employees Telecommute? Part III
- Should Your Employees Telecommute? Part II
- Should Your Employees Telecommute?
- Proper Investigation of Employee Misconduct
- Battles in the Wellness War
- Rules are rules! Aren’t they?
- What's going on in Bismarck
- A glimpse ahead
2012
- Obesity as a disability under the ADA – reweighing the issue
- What’s next for your business under the Affordable Care Act?
- Criminal Background Checks
- Becoming a lawyer is a process, not an event [Section 5 of 5]
- Congress Says Yes To North Slope Energy Jobs Bill
- Test Your Knowledge of Social Media Policies and Employee Discipline
- Becoming a lawyer is a process, not an event [Section 4 of 5]
- What Every Employer Needs to Know About the NLRA
- Will the 2012 Elections Make A Difference
2011
- Where There's Smoke...
- Dress Code Etiquette: Is Casual Friday Becoming Freaky Friday
- The Next Disaster May Be Yours
- Hostile Work Environment Claims
- North Dakota Employment Law Links
- There's An App For That
- Am I a “Business Associate”? Why Should I Care?
- Do You Recognize a Cat's Paw When You See One?
- Cell Phones Can Cost a Lot, Part II
- Becoming a lawyer is a process, not an event [Section 3 of 5]
- Cell Phones Can Cost a Lot, Part I
- The Economy - What HR Professionals Need To Know
- Becoming a lawyer is a process, not an event [Section 2 of 5]
- Three New Challenges For HR Professionals
2010
Oct 06, 2011
In today’s economy, employers are often searching for creative ways to boost company morale in a cost effective way. Implementing “Casual Fridays” is one “easy” way to indulge employees. However, it seems that some employees are interpreting the gift of Casual Friday as a green light to wear whatever they please.
Fans of the NBC sitcom The Office may remember the episode in which Casual Friday was initiated and then promptly taken away after Oscar showed up in sandals, Stanley in a sweat suit, and Meredith in a microscopic dress which she accessorized with nothing…literally. This situation may be funny for viewers, but more and more employers must deal with these types of problems in real life, which is not so humorous. Nowadays it seems that the American society in general is placing more emphasis on being relaxed and comfortable, rather than professional, and dressing to express oneself, rather than dressing to impress. So how do you balance employee self expression with the company’s image in a way that keeps both morale up and business booming?
Successfully balancing employee self expression with the company’s image requires implementing guidelines for casual day dress codes. Having solid black letter policies regarding what is acceptable on Casual Friday versus what is unacceptable is essential to avoiding fashion disasters while still keeping employee morale up. Getting creative in drafting these guidelines is key to employees feeling as though they are still in control of what they can wear.
Without explaining all the details of such a policy, a company could try, for example, having “Dark Denim Friday” rather than “Casual Friday.” This is creative and adds some specificity. Employees have the option of wearing darker colored jeans with what they would otherwise normally wear to work. Darker shades of jeans tend to look more professional than lighter shades, so clients and customers are still getting the impression that they are in a professional environment while employees can still feel as though they are getting a day off from dressing up. Another creative way to retain professionalism on casual days is by implementing a “First Date Dress Code.” On First Date Dress Code days, employees are invited to go casual but only to the point where their attire would still be considered appropriate on a first date.
Protecting your company’s image not only requires keeping your employees looking professional, but also safeguarding your company from the threat of litigation. So remember that drafting any employee dress code also carries with it added responsibility. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act demands that dress codes which are a condition of employment be enforced in a nondiscriminatory manner. Dress codes also violate this Title when they improperly distinguish between employees based on gender, race, national origin or religion.
Courts, in general, will favor the employee, so it is important to scrutinize everything that is being put into any dress code policy. The most effective way to do so is to make sure that all requirements are related to legitimate business interests and apply them equally. Dress codes that are not substantively nondiscriminatory and are applied to all employees equally often hold up to legal challenge. However the “kicker” trait among protected policies is that they be clearly related to a legitimate business concern. Essentially, to protect your company it is imperative that your dress code policies, even casual day policies, be related to and justified by the type of work your company does.
Reprinted with permission from an article submitted for publication in the September, 2011 Southwest Area Human Resource Association newsletter.
Dress Code Etiquette: Is Casual Friday Becoming Freaky Friday
By: Courtney OlsonIn today’s economy, employers are often searching for creative ways to boost company morale in a cost effective way. Implementing “Casual Fridays” is one “easy” way to indulge employees. However, it seems that some employees are interpreting the gift of Casual Friday as a green light to wear whatever they please.
Fans of the NBC sitcom The Office may remember the episode in which Casual Friday was initiated and then promptly taken away after Oscar showed up in sandals, Stanley in a sweat suit, and Meredith in a microscopic dress which she accessorized with nothing…literally. This situation may be funny for viewers, but more and more employers must deal with these types of problems in real life, which is not so humorous. Nowadays it seems that the American society in general is placing more emphasis on being relaxed and comfortable, rather than professional, and dressing to express oneself, rather than dressing to impress. So how do you balance employee self expression with the company’s image in a way that keeps both morale up and business booming?
Successfully balancing employee self expression with the company’s image requires implementing guidelines for casual day dress codes. Having solid black letter policies regarding what is acceptable on Casual Friday versus what is unacceptable is essential to avoiding fashion disasters while still keeping employee morale up. Getting creative in drafting these guidelines is key to employees feeling as though they are still in control of what they can wear.
Without explaining all the details of such a policy, a company could try, for example, having “Dark Denim Friday” rather than “Casual Friday.” This is creative and adds some specificity. Employees have the option of wearing darker colored jeans with what they would otherwise normally wear to work. Darker shades of jeans tend to look more professional than lighter shades, so clients and customers are still getting the impression that they are in a professional environment while employees can still feel as though they are getting a day off from dressing up. Another creative way to retain professionalism on casual days is by implementing a “First Date Dress Code.” On First Date Dress Code days, employees are invited to go casual but only to the point where their attire would still be considered appropriate on a first date.
Protecting your company’s image not only requires keeping your employees looking professional, but also safeguarding your company from the threat of litigation. So remember that drafting any employee dress code also carries with it added responsibility. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act demands that dress codes which are a condition of employment be enforced in a nondiscriminatory manner. Dress codes also violate this Title when they improperly distinguish between employees based on gender, race, national origin or religion.
Courts, in general, will favor the employee, so it is important to scrutinize everything that is being put into any dress code policy. The most effective way to do so is to make sure that all requirements are related to legitimate business interests and apply them equally. Dress codes that are not substantively nondiscriminatory and are applied to all employees equally often hold up to legal challenge. However the “kicker” trait among protected policies is that they be clearly related to a legitimate business concern. Essentially, to protect your company it is imperative that your dress code policies, even casual day policies, be related to and justified by the type of work your company does.
Reprinted with permission from an article submitted for publication in the September, 2011 Southwest Area Human Resource Association newsletter.