Articles Discussing Workplace Grooming Standards And Title VII.

Executive Summary: Many have said that the workplace tends to be society’s battlefield—where culture wars play out and emerging trends go up against long-established ones.

I am an HR manager for a boutique beauty supply shop based in Atlanta, Georgia. We are planning to expand into new storefronts in both San Diego, California and Brooklyn, New York. We have a standard grooming policy because our company promotes personal care products and it is important to us that client-facing employees are clean and well-groomed. Our handbook restricts employees on the sales floor from wearing facial piercings, visible tattoos, long beards and dreadlocks. However, we’ve heard that new laws prohibit “hairstyle discrimination” and restrict dress codes. Can we still maintain our look?

An employer’s ban on dreadlocks and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s willingness to file a lawsuit to vindicate an employee’s rights has opened a legal debate on the meaning of “race” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.