The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued new guidelines regarding religious attire and grooming in the workplace, reminding employers and employees what’s prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Every small business should take some time to review the EEOC’s updated “Fact Sheet on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities,” along with the corresponding question-and-answer guide.

As you read those items, here are six areas of concern business owners should keep in mind:

  • Wearing religious clothing or articles (e.g., a cross, a kirpan [a symbolic miniature sword carried by Sikhs], or religious headwear such as a hijab [headscarf], a yarmulke, or a turban);
  • Observing a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments (e.g., a Muslim, Pentecostal Christian, or Orthodox Jewish woman’s practice of wearing modest clothing, and of not wearing pants or short skirts); and
  • Adhering to shaving or hair length observances (e.g., uncut hair and beards for Sikhs, dreadlocks for Rastafarians, or peyes [sidelocks] for Jews).

To find out if your dress code goes too far, consider consulting an employment attorney in your area.

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Related Resources:

  • Third Abercrombie and Fitch Headscarf Suit (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
  • Which Religious Holidays Must Be Recognized? (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise)
  • UPS Settles Jehovah’s Witness Suit for $70K (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise)
  • Muslim, Sikh NYC Transit Workers’ Head Wear Now Permitted (FindLaw’s Decided)

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