Dress code issues

[chief04010]

I was listening to the Today Show and heard a segment about interns being fired for challenging a dress code. One of the hosts made the statement that when she was an intern she was told to dress for the job that you wanted not for the job that you have, that's when I realized that if I followed that advice I would show up at work in a t-shirt shorts and sandals since the job I really want is retiree.

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[RockyMtn]

my retiree dress code is t shirt, shorts, flip flops. Sometimes in summer I ditch the shirt! Socks...only for golf. Record so far without wearing socks for anything but golf is seven months!

[cathy63]

They must have been talking about Ask A Manager. I read her blog pretty regularly. Here's the post about the interns who petitioned to have the dress code changed: I was fired from my internship for writing a proposal for a more flexible dress code — Ask a Manager

[Senator]

I have worn jeans virtually every day for the past 10+ years at my j*b. Mostly with a collared and long sleeve shirt.

We have casual dress on Friday, and "jeans stickers" purchased for a United Way cause. I do not buy stickers. I wear jeans. My standard response was they can fire me if they do not like it.

I am sure an attorney would have a field day going after a company that said one person's dress was appropriate and another's not. A dress code is near impossible to enforce these days, and if taken to Court would almost 100% certainly lose.

[Aerides]

If you read the entire story.. the big picture is less about getting fired over a dress code, than being fired for being ridiculous.

A group of new summer unpaid interns arranged a petition to the firm management to abolish the code citing unfair exceptions, etc.

I think I'd have let the lot of them go as well, or at least been quite tempted, and certain not to offer them paid positions at the end of the internship.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief04010 I would show up at work in a t-shirt shorts and sandals ...

Is this you?

Walmart-4.JPG

[jollystomper]

The interns forgot the basic rule of "make yourself valuable first, before you make waves."

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollystomper The interns forgot the basic rule of "make yourself valuable first, before you make waves."

+1 (They tell me) it's amazing what you can get away with if you're indispensable.

Decades upon decades ago, an old manager, who transferred into sales from marketing, told of a PR writer who was, apparently, brilliant.....he'd come into board meetings, slightly hung over and somewhat disheveled, clutching a container of milk.....no-one said a word.

[chief04010]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Is this you? Attachment 24230

No, I only get dressed up that much when I go to Walmart

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[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator I am sure an attorney would have a field day going after a company that said one person's dress was appropriate and another's not. A dress code is near impossible to enforce these days, and if taken to Court would almost 100% certainly lose.

Yeah, not necessarily. If it's an at-will employment state (like Georgia), unless the employer is doing something against a protected class or is against the law (say safety requirements), then an employer can fire anyone they want, for any or no reason at all. I think some folks forget that a job belongs to an EMPLOYER...not an employee.

When I was still w*rking, I was happy to wear a flight suit everyday. That is the easiet piece of clothing to wear and take care of. And hey...it was nice to wear what is essentially pajamas to w*rk! BUT...the big zipper...remember, you can never trust a man with a 4 foot long zipper!

[timo2]

The argument some of our summer intern hires make regarding work attire is that being young college students, they don't have the funds to buy lots of fancy clothes for just a few months a year. So management compromised, and got them to wear nice jeans instead of shorts. and shirts with sleeves instead of spaghetti straps. The interns with the petition obviously just learned (hopefully) how not to negotiate.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timo2 The argument some of our summer intern hires make regarding work attire is that being young college students, they don't have the funds to buy lots of fancy clothes for just a few months a year.

Bull. I would love to see the threads they have for going out on a Friday and Saturday night. I've been to the mall before..these kids can't buy ENOUGH clothes. You can buy nice looking clothes without spending a ton of money...this is the unfortunate truth with child labor making it SOOO cheap.

[Sue J]

I was in college in the 70's, going for a teaching degree. I think it was our Junior year we had a class that went out to a local elementary school to get some experience teaching in a math class. Our professor arranged who would go to which class and where to meet up for transportation and then she told us that no jeans or shorts were allowed, we needed to dress appropriately. It didn't have to be dresses, slacks were ok, but no jeans. Be clean, no T-shirts, no sweatshirts, wear appropriate shoes, look better than you do coming to class.

The professor heard a few students complaining about not having the right clothes for this and she offered to set up a group trip to Goodwill where she would help them find an outfit.

No one took her up on her offer and everyone showed up for the outing looking appropriate! Now that I look back on this she was an excellent teacher and I loved the class. I remember wearing a nice pair of courdoroy pants and a light sweater and I think I had some casual shoes that were not sneakers.

The story about the interns and the petition about the dress code was interesting! A summer intern complaining about the dress code is just absurd. To address the issue with a petition shows a lack of respect and a very poor attitude. Congratulations to the intern who did not sign the petition and didn't get fired. Hire that one!

[Senator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 Yeah, not necessarily. If it's an at-will employment state (like Georgia), unless the employer is doing something against a protected class or is against the law (say safety requirements), then an employer can fire anyone they want, for any or no reason at all. I think some folks forget that a job belongs to an EMPLOYER...not an employee.

They can certainly fire you, but the expense of a lawsuit would be high if it was taken pro-bono by a pro-employee lawyer.

Of course, the government and military can do what they want, they are exempt from many laws.

An employer would be hard pressed to explain how a pair of shorts or jeans was a problem, but a women's dress above the knees was OK. A pair of men's sandals was not OK, but a woman's open toe shoe was OK. Or that some forms of religious clothing was better than a pair of jeans. Or a woman's sleeveless shirt was OK, but my sleeveless shirt was not.'

Just because a piece of clothing is denim, doesn't make it bad.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator An employer would be hard pressed to explain how a pair of shorts or jeans was a problem, but a women's dress above the knees was OK. A pair of men's sandals was not OK, but a woman's open toe shoe was OK. Or that some forms of religious clothing was better than a pair of jeans. Or a woman's sleeveless shirt was OK, but my sleeveless shirt was not.

I think it might be because we like to look at young semi-covered women, but semi dressed men are considered threatening. Myself, I can understand and I see no problem with this.

Ha

[Tailgate]

My tan lines on my feet are a direct result of my dress code... I'd post a pic but would be inviting some ugly toe comments....

[CaliforniaMan]

I was thinking a while back that my whole life I have pretty much dressed the same. I wore jeans, Levis, in grade school, and except for two years at Jr. High where I wore slacks (I guess trying to impress the girls), and my short 80s stint at cords (all the programmers seemed to be wearing them, and they squeaked when you walked), I went back to jeans and except for shorts in the summer, I have dressed pretty much the same all my life.

Back years ago when there were still dress codes, I remember jeans were banned at a company I consulted for, and where I had an office. I wore jeans every day, nobody ever said anything. Always better to be an outside contractor than an employee.

[pacergal]

Their argument was based on seeing ONE person wear shoes that did not follow the dress code. At the end of their firing, they were informed that this employee was a former soldier who had lost her leg and was allowed to wear whatever shoe fit her prothesis.
So, instead of discreetly inquiring to a manger, she got a whole group up in arms to protest. I think they got what they deserved--a very good lesson that things are not always as they seem. Time to grow up!

[GravitySucks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief04010 I was listening to the Today Show and heard a segment about interns being fired for challenging a dress code. One of the hosts made the statement that when she was an intern she was told to dress for the job that you wanted not for the job that you have, that's when I realized that if I followed that advice I would show up at work in a t-shirt shorts and sandals since the job I really want is retiree. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

The Cowl and Cape were to uncomfortable after 8 hours.
ImageUploadedByEarly Retirement Forum1467653240.956378.jpg

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacergal Their argument was based on seeing ONE person wear shoes that did not follow the dress code. At the end of their firing, they were informed that this employee was a former soldier who had lost her leg and was allowed to wear whatever shoe fit her prothesis. So, instead of discreetly inquiring to a manger, she got a whole group up in arms to protest. I think they got what they deserved--a very good lesson that things are not always as they seem. Time to grow up!

Well, this goes to prove that being stupid won't get you very far in life.