Problem
Scenario
You are a Human Resources Generalist for Pietro's Pizza, a chain of restaurants that is popular with young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. Two years ago, Pietro's Pizza was primarily a family restaurant, but over the past twenty- four months it had been reinvented to appeal to a younger crowd: the owners renovated the restaurants to include sports lounges, they introduced a happy hour menu from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., and they started hiring energetic university students as servers, bartenders and hostesses. Around the same time, Pietro's management introduced a dress code: gone were the black pants and branded red button-down short sleeve shirts. Now, the male employees wear black pants and black button- down long-sleeved shirts (with the cuffs rolled up), while the female employees wear body conscious black tank tops with short black skirts and high heels. Over- all, these changes have been very successful for the chain; sales were up 200% over the prior year, and there were often line ups for tables on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. However, these changes did not come without challenges. Some long-time staff had been terminated, regular customers complained about the lack of family- friendly food choices, and there had been a Facebook backlash against their hiring practices after a candidate was rejected for not "fitting the mold."
Today you received a phone call from one of the servers, Natasha, who said she does not feel comfortable wearing the black tank top, short skirt and high heels at work, and wanted to wear black pants and a button-down shirt like the male employees. She told you during your discussion that she did not want to lose her job because she relies on the income from her wages and tips to pay her university tuition, but also does not want to dress in a way that makes her feel immodest. She has been uncomfortable raising this with the restaurant manager for fear of repercussion and has asked you to intervene on her behalf.
Task
A. What does the law and human rights legislation in your jurisdiction say about dress in the workplace?
B. Can Natasha refuse to follow the dress code for female employees?
C. Can Natasha's employment be terminated if she does not want to follow this dress code? Should it be terminated?
D. What advice would you give to the management team of Pietro's Pizza chain of restaurants?