Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Illinois

i work for caterpillar tractor inc. my son gave me a john deer tractor hat for a christmas present. nothing obscure in anyway. just john deere with a picture of a tractor. i wore it to work and put it in my locker and put on my weld cap to begin work. my supervisor promtley told me that i could not wear the hat on company property. can he legally prevent me from wearing the hat to and from work as described?


Asked on 12/28/11, 5:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Betty Tsamis Tsamis Law Firm PC

Generally, a private employer can dictate what you wear to work so long as such directives do not violate anti-discrimination or other laws. For example, an employer that refuses to allow a muslim female to wear head covering without a reasonable basis to do so, could be in violation of laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion or national origin. An employer that allows men to wear baseball caps but prohibits females from doing so could be in violation of laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. Your employer is not unreasonable in not wanting you to wear a hat with its competitor's insignia on it. Such directive/policy does not appear to be applied in a discriminatory way.

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Answered on 1/03/12, 8:13 am


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