Can my boss make me wear pants instead of a skirt?

A worker’s religious convictions clash with her employer’s uniform policy.

Question

My religious views demand women to dress modestly, preferring skirts or dresses over trousers. I work at a sports goods business, and the owner just mandated that all staff wear black slacks and a black and white striped referee’s shirt. Can they make me wear pants even if it goes against my religion?

Answer

The law is on your side in this circumstance. Title VII, the federal statute that forbids employment discrimination, compels employers to not only avoid religious discrimination, but also to properly accommodate their workers’ honestly held religious views.

If complying with your employer’s uniform policy will contradict with your religious convictions, you should seek for an accommodation. It is your responsibility to seek an exemption to the regulations. Your employer can be unaware of your views or what they need. Although some pieces of clothing (such as a crucifix, yarmulke, or hijab) are commonly recognized to have religious overtones, your employer may not understand that wearing a skirt or dress rather than trousers is anything more than a fashion statement. As a result, you should meet with the owner or your manager and explain why an exemption to the uniform rule is required.

Your employer must approve the request unless doing so would constitute an excessive burden. It does not seem that your employer would have any difficulties. You must have been performing your work just well in your preferred attire. While the employer’s aims of making it easy for consumers to recognize staff and building a sports-themed corporate image are admirable, those goals may still be reached if you wear a long white skirt instead of slacks with your referee’s shirt.

An employer may impose uniform or grooming restrictions for crucial safety concerns. In some circumstances, accommodating an employee who, for example, will not conceal a long beard in a laboratory clean room or wears flowing religious clothing that may easily get entangled in equipment may be difficult. However, it does not seem like your employer is concerned about safety. Although there are valid economic reasons for implementing its uniform policy, forcing you to conform would be religious discrimination.