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Nov27

Definition of Dress Pants

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The company owner doesn’t like the pants some of the younger women are wearing to work, stating that they are not appropiate. They are what is in the stores for that age group. They may be a little tighter, a little lower on the hip, but are made of the material for dress pants. How can we say they are not appropriate?

This is a judgment call, rather than a labor law issue. However, there are some suggestions based on how other companies have handled this issue in the past.

Dress code is always a touchy issue for employers, in part because it is subjective. One employer may consider a knee-length skirt too short, while another might consider it too long.

Ultimately, an employer simply needs to set a standard and stick with it. This may involve providing feedback on a case-by-case basis.

From your description, it sounds like the young women are technically wearing “dress pants.” In other words, they are not wearing jeans, khakis, Dockers, etc. The owner simply doesn’t like the style of dress pants that they are wearing, and wants to set a dress code that prohibits them. That is his right as an employer, although it may well be annoying and time-consuming to enforce such a policy. It may even reduce employee morale and increase turnover.

The best way to approach the problem initially is to send out a memo to all employees that women’s pants which are too snug, or come down too low on the hips, are not appropriate at work. If you’d like to specify that the midriff should never be visible at work, that should be in the memo as well.

Then, when someone wears an outfit or a pair of pants that is not appropriate in this workplace, she needs to be informed of the fact. In some companies, a female supervisor or human resources manager does this one-on-one, where other employees can’t overhear. In other companies, this is done in writing via a short, private note. It’s important that the communication be tactful, but that the employee understands exactly what is wrong with the outfit.

Most of the time, that will solve the problem. In a few cases, an employee may continue to wear an inappropriate outfit. In that case, disciplinary action including verbal and written warnings, suspension and eventual termination would be warranted.

Some companies try to be very specific in the written dress code. The employer may set a policy that a woman’s midriff should not show when she is standing or raises her arms above her head, and that her back should not show when she sits or bends over. Another option would be to set a policy that women’s dress slacks should be cut no lower than the naval. Either of these might be helpful in communicating the dress code to employees.

Other companies simply state that attire should be appropriate and leave supervisors to communicate, and enforce, the standards.

However, ultimately, violations of the dress code will have to be handled individually. It’s perfectly acceptable to tell someone that his or her outfit is not appropriate in the workplace, even if there is no specific written rule forbidding it. To look at an exaggeration, you probably don’t have a specific policy that men must wear shirts to work. But, most employers would not hesitate to send a shirtless male employee home to change.

Another way to handle the problem is to consider uniforms. Companies like Cintas supply business attire in a variety of sizes. Yet another way would be to require both men and women to wear suits to work. It’s very difficult to see a young woman’s midriff if it’s covered by a suit jacket.

From a legal perspective, the important consideration is that the dress code be enforced uniformly. If “low-rider” pants are not allowed, then every employee must refrain from wearing them…even that cute, slender new girl from marketing.

The law has supported employers establishing different dress codes for men and women, within reason. However, a number of court cases maintain that an employer may be required to make exceptions to the dress code for an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. It doesn’t sound like that’s the case here. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 4:07 pm and is filed under
Employment Training, Human Resources Management.
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12 Responses to “Definition of Dress Pants”

  1. Alan Says:

    Excellent! Thanks for sharing the info. You write really well. Hope to see much more flowing from your end. Cheers :)

  2. Caitlin Says:

    Thanks for the kind words Alan!~ Caitlin

  3. Nichelle Krejsa Says:

    A brill post please keep going thanks

  4. Caitlin Says:

    Thanks Nichelle!~ Caitlin

  5. Masupik Says:

    Thank you for a very clear and helpful post. I am definitely a violator of many of these rules. I often find myself conflicted when writing a blog post because I see myself writing more than people want to read, but I feel that I have to do the subject matter justice by thoroughly covering it. I feel that by following some of these rules I end up cutting out important aspects to the discussion. I guess you have to find a balance.

  6. Caitlin Says:

    Hi Masupik! We agree. Remember that you can always write a short post today and add another short post on the same topic tomorrow. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Caitlin

  7. fashion Says:

    Great to hear the storyof how things actually developed leadingup to the launch of the station. It seems that there was a lot of luck involved.

  8. Caitlin Says:

    Thanks for reading, fashion!~ Caitlin

  9. Kipu Nerek Says:

    Great discussion. And I REALLY like that you practice what you preach. That’s when you can tell a post has come together.
    And I’m also fascinated by how fresh you made the routine [admit it: what you just shared has been regurgitated millions of time. ;-)].
    Ben Johnson said people don’t need taught as much as they need reminding.
    Good work.

  10. Caitlin Says:

    You are very welcome, Kipu! Check back often– we are constantly posting new info!~ Caitlin

  11. Shelby Says:

    I would agree! I think it is the proper dress attire that you should wear but managment needs to make clear how that dress attire should be worn in a professional manner. For example, low-rider womens pants should be worn with a shirt that covers the naval.

  12. Caitlin Says:

    Hi shelby! Sorry, but we do not entirely agree. It is much easier for an employer to ban hip-hugger pants than to constantly police every employee to make sure they are not showing too much skin.

    We are reminded of high school, when some girls left the house in jeans and a turtleneck, only to take them off in the school bathroom, revealing skimpy shorts and a tank top underneath. Even if an employee is wearing a dress shirt that is buttoned up and tucked into her low-rider pants, there is no guarantee it will stay there when she bends over. HR has better things to do than inspect every employees attire every hour.

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