Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I have been working in the same field for the past 10 years (medical). Five years with my previous employer and now five years with this one. I work at an ambulatory surgery center. For all the years I have been employed I have shaved my head, grown it out and shaved it again number-us times. Just recently my employer had asked me to cover my head because the patients (a few and about two doctors) believe I'm a skin head. I'm half Mexican and half mutt (mix of many nationalities).
Is this legal?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately, employers can impose grooming restrictions. Unless the grooming restriction can be tied to some discriminatory motive, employers can dictate to its employees how to dress, and how they are expected to appear. Among the more famous employers known for this are Disneyland and the New York Yankees.
Your employer can enforce dress codes, with limited exceptions, which do not apply here. In general, unless you are civil service, in a union or have a written employment contract, you are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, other than illegal discrimination under the Civil Rights, or Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. Your goal should be to keep your employer happy with you.
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