Analysis: Dress Code Is About Fairness

Making exceptions for one employee—even a high-performing one—who violates company policy on dress code would set the stage for trouble

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Did it make sense for a manager to terminate a revenue-generating employee simply because of dress-code violations?

"You want to ask first, 'Is this a wise use of power?'" says Bruce Barry, a professor of management and sociology at Vanderbilt University and author of the book Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace (Berrett-Koehler, 2007). "There are a lot of smart, talented people out there who don't like to dress up."

Were this not a work environment where clients visited, it might be moot. "If people are in a back room, maybe you can just scrap the dress code altogether," says Mike Wietrzychowski, an attorney with the labor and employment practices group at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis in its Philadelphia and Cherry Hill (N.J.) offices.

Good at Ignoring the Rules

Then how about making an exception and allowing the high-earning employee to dress as he pleases—a perquisite given because of his performance and consistently proven ability to generate revenue? Doing that could cause legal problems down the road, according to Wietrzychowski. "If you make an exception for a guy who doesn't wear a tie because he's a great employee, and then you fire a minority for not wearing a tie, you may have to prove your business decision is right in court. You want to be as consistent as possible."

He also points out that there are likely plenty of capable job candidates out there who would like to take a shot at the position—and be delighted to dress professionally for it. "And consider this: How can the high-earning worker be a 'good employee' if he chooses to ignore the dress code?" Wietrzychowski asks.

Dress Code Due Diligence

Barry and Wietrzychowski agree that the manager had no choice but to terminate the motley worker, and that he did it correctly:

1. He checked with HR to make sure the employee had been made aware of the dress code policy.

2. He made sure the wardrobe and grooming digressions were not protected by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

3. He correctly determined that the firm clearly could not deviate from the rest of the industry by abolishing the dress code altogether. Maybe this particular financial planner's clients didn't mind his slovenly appearance, but that doesn't mean his colleagues' clients would feel the same way.

4. The manager kept the actual termination meeting professional and well-documented.

Clearly the financial planner is someone who lacks the proper respect for authority, so the manager has done everything possible to mitigate ill-feeling—and the prospect of legal consequences—on the part of the fired employee. According to Linda Wong, partner at Wong Fleming, a Princeton law firm specializing in employment law, "Reasonable dress code policies usually hold up in court."