The Pros and Cons of a Relaxed Summer Dress Code
As I write this, the heat index in Washington, DC, where I live, is close to 100 degrees. It is sweltering, humid, and downright miserable. So I reflected on our staff and the thousands of others suffering in the dog days of summer, how employers relax their summer dress codes – and more importantly, how even a relaxed summer dress code can be abused or create a recipe for sexual harassment in the workplace.
Employees across the country are rolling up their sleeves and perhaps even wearing tank tops, shorts, halter dresses, shoes with no socks, or flip-flops to work. But are they exposing more skin, tattoos, and piercings than is appropriate?
Benefits of Dress Code Relaxation
While conservative workplace attire has been the norm for many years, many employers have relaxed their year-round dress codes to perk up morale and improve employee retention. Casual dress codes are more prevalent in the workplace in response to employees’ requests for relaxed, flexible work environments. In fact, according to a 2013 Society for Human Resource Management employee benefits survey, 23% of organizations now allow casual seasonal dress.
As the summer temperatures start to rise and more tolerance is given or standards relaxed, now is the appropriate time to remind your employees about what is permitted regarding the summer dress code policy.
Dress Codes & Discrimination
Here’s something you may want to consider. It is a surprise to most employers that discrimination laws may limit your choices of appropriate workplace dress for your organization. This means you have wide discretion when setting appearance standards, so long as they do not violate an employee’s religious or ethnic beliefs, practices, or physical disability.
For example, you may enforce regulations barring tattoos or piercings. Although tattoos and piercings may be examples of employee self-expression, they are not usually a form of religious or racial expression and are hence not restricted under federal discrimination laws.
However, certain dress codes and appearance restrictions may be termed discriminatory if they interfere with an employee’s observance of religious practices such as head coverings or target a particular group of employees, such as women, those who experience physical disabilities, or minorities.
Non-Discriminatory Prohibition
Can your business’s dress code prohibit jeans, shorts, short skirts, t-shirts with logos or advertising, halter dresses, tight-fitting clothes, exercise attire, and flip-flops? Short answer—Yes. Even the most casual businesses expect their employees to use common sense in selecting business attire regardless of the weather.
One issue that always seems to come to play in relaxed summer dress codes is that tattoos never before seen in the workplace are revealed, and frankly, they should stay covered. Before anyone starts screaming that this is discrimination due to the tattoo, I want to say that, yes, yes it probably is. But discrimination, in and of itself, is not illegal nor immoral.
Hopefully, your workplace discriminates against people who are incompetent or lazy. Tattoos are something you choose to get; they are not an innate characteristic. Some people just don’t like them. Anyone choosing to spend their time and money getting jabbed repeatedly with a needle full of ink on a conspicuous patch of skin should be aware that it may have some effect on their future.
The ETHIX360 blog brings you weekly updates on all things human resources and compliance.
MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
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