Posted on: Monday, July 23, 2001

Business grooming policies under fire

USA Today

As workplaces become more diverse, employers are coming under fire for policies on workers' physical appearance.

For example:

• Federal Express is being sued over its policy restricting employees involved in customer contact from wearing dreadlocks, according to government officials. Last month, the New York attorney general's office joined a court action claiming the company broke discrimination laws when it fired seven couriers who wore dreadlocks as part of their Rastafarian beliefs.

• Domino's Pizza dropped its longstanding ban on beards in the wake of a lawsuit by a Sikh who says he was refused a job because of his facial hair. He said the policy was discriminatory because his religion forbids him from shaving. Officials say the policy change was unrelated to the lawsuit, which has been settled.

• Last month, a federal judge ordered six firefighters in Washington, D.C., to be reinstated. They had been on leave because they'd refused to shave or cut their hair due to religious beliefs; a grooming policy is still in place, but the judge ruled accommodations for religious beliefs must be made.

Such issues are becoming more commonplace: Charges alleging religious discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have jumped almost 40 percent, from 1,388 in fiscal year 1992 to 1,939 last year.

"Statistics show that there are greater numbers of immigrants in the workplace now, which makes this issue more prevalent today," says Michael Karpeles, a Chicago-based employment lawyer.

Employers say they often need policies in order to ensure safety and professional appearances.

However, some of those policies are being revamped. United Airlines, for instance, announced in May that it will allow customer service workers to wear company-sanctioned hijabs, turbans or yarmulkes as part of their uniform.