A.P. Number

4.07 Section ADMINISTRATIVE Employee Guidelines/ POLICY Procedures Effective Date 9-2-97 Last Revised 7-11-2017 Subject APPROPRIATE WORK

Purpose: The purpose of this Administrative Policy (A.P.) is to establish minimum standards for work clothing for City employees while meeting the public and to provide protective clothing for the safety of employees.

City employees contribute to the corporate culture and reputation in the way they present themselves. A professional appearance is essential to a favorable impression with customers and members of the public. Good grooming and appropriate reflect employee pride and inspire confidence on the part of such persons.

Scope: This A.P. governs the wearing of appropriate work clothing for all City employees. It is the mini- mum standard for the wearing of appropriate work clothing. Individual departments may, when neces- sary, implement more stringent written policies with respect to work clothing. Individual departments may authorize more casual clothing types for field operations, special projects or special events.

Responsibility: All City employees are expected to be familiar with this policy and are responsible for complying with it.

Policy: The following shall be the policy regarding the wearing of work clothing: All City employees must present a clean, neat and businesslike appearance at all times. City department managers may exercise reasonable discretion to determine appropriateness in employee dress and appearance. Employees who do not meet a professional standard may be sent home to change, and nonexempt employees will not be paid for that time off. Reasonable accommodation will be made where required. Although these stand- ards are general in nature, each employee is expected to exercise good judgment in following them.

Certain staff members may be required to meet special dress, grooming and hygiene standards, such as wearing or protective clothing, depending on the nature of their job. Uniforms and protective clothing may be required for certain positions and will be provided to employees by the City.

Field operations - clothing for field operations consist of a , pants, and or . The following are representative examples of inappropriate clothing: loose, flowing or ragged clothing, half , , canvas shoes, and any open-toed shoes. (Exceptions would be swimming and rec- reational program field personnel or other exceptions as granted by individual departments).

Work clothes must be clean at the beginning of the work shift as a safeguard against skin infections and irritations. Smocks, and should be worn whenever possible to keep work clothes clean. Work clothes must be kept free from oil and/or grease as much as possible as a safeguard against fire hazard. Clothing including , and T-shirts, etc., may not display advertising for alcohol, ciga- rettes or vendors doing business with the City. Additionally, work clothes shall not display inappropriate images or contain inappropriate language.

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Office operations – this includes office operations at the following locations:

• Water Plant • Library • Transit • Museum • CMG • Airport • City Hall • Waste Water Treatment Plant • Art Center • Field Office locations

Employees whose primary work site is in an office in a City facility are expected to maintain a professional and businesslike appearance when working and representing the City. The basic philosophy is to use common sense and good taste recognizing that we are in a professional business setting. While some operations or special events may require more strict guidelines, the following standards for maintaining a professional, businesslike appearance are established as a minimum for all employees.

1. Clothing should be appropriate for use in a professional or business setting. Some examples are:

• • • sports jackets • business appropriate length • • slacks • shirts and ties • split skirts that look like skirts • • dress capris

2. Examples of inappropriate article of clothing:

• sun dresses with spaghetti • halter tops straps • crop tops • strapless or party dresses • tank tops with less than a 2-inch strap • and stretch pants • T-shirts and shorts •

3. is optional.

4. Shoes must be appropriate for a professional businesslike setting. Business appropriate dress san- dals and mules are allowed. Tennis shoes, , flip flops, and casual are not acceptable.

5. Hair must be kept clean and neat. The length and style should be appropriate for a professional busi- ness environment. The same standards apply to facial hair. Professional hygiene should be main- tained. Clothing must be clean and neat at the beginning of each work day.

6. Makeup, if worn, should be in good taste. Cologne, perfumes, after shaves and other scents should be used sparingly so as not to be intrusive.

7. Style and cut of clothing should be professional and businesslike.

8. Clothing including jackets, sweaters, etc., when worn in the office must not display advertising for al- cohol, tobacco, drugs, violence or any vendors.

9. The City permits employees to wear jewelry or to display tattoos at the workplace within the following guidelines. Factors that management will consider to determine whether jewelry or tattoos may pose a conflict with the employee’s job or work environment include:

a. Personal safety of self or others, or damage to company property. 2

b. Productivity or performance expectations. c. Offensiveness to co-workers, customers, vendors or others in the workplace based on ra- cial, sexual, religious, ethnic, or other characteristics or attributes of a sensitive or legally protected nature. d. Corporate or societal norms. e. Customer complaints.

If management determines an employee’s jewelry or tattoos may present such a conflict, the employee will be encouraged to identify appropriate options, such as removal of excess or offensive jewelry, cover- ing of tattoos, transfer to an alternative position, or other reasonable means to resolve the conflict.

Reasonable accommodation of religious beliefs: The City recognizes the importance of individually held religious beliefs to persons within its workforce. The City will reasonably accommodate a staff member’s religious beliefs in terms of workplace attire un- less the accommodation creates an undue hardship. Accommodation of religious beliefs in terms of attire may be difficult in light of safety issues for staff members. Those requesting a workplace attire accommo- dation based on religious beliefs should be referred to the Human Resource (HR) department.

Casual or dress-down days: Casual or dress down days will be permitted on Fridays for those individuals who participate in the Blue Jeans for Charity campaign or except during specified and announced periods when casual days will be suspended. Some departments may require specific guidelines that differ from the business casual guide- lines. Employees who must leave work to change clothes for business reasons will use personal time or vacation time to do so. When meeting clients, business dress guidelines must be observed, unless the client has specifically requested otherwise.

Casual or dress down days for Fridays is defined as follows:

1. Casual shirts: All shirts with collars, business casual crewneck or V-neck shirts, , golf and polo shirts. Examples of inappropriate shirts include T-shirts, shirts with inappropriate slogans, tank tops, spaghetti straps, clothing showing midriffs, muscle shirts, camouflage, beachwear, and crop tops. In specified circumstances, T-shirts may be approved and provided for specific events only.

2. Pants: Casual slacks, and capris, and jeans and jean capris without holes, frays, etc. Ex- amples of inappropriate pants include shorts, camouflage, , leggings, exercise wear, and pants worn below the waist or hip line.

3. Footwear: Casual -on or tie shoes, dress sandals with heel straps and athletic shoes if ap- proved by the department. Examples of inappropriate footwear include flip-flops and construction or hunting boots.

Addressing workplace attire and hygiene problems: Violations of the policy can range from inappropriate clothing items to offensive perfumes and body odor. If a staff member comes to work in inappropriate dress, the staff member will be required to go home, change into conforming attire or properly groom, and return to work.

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If a staff member’s poor hygiene or use of too much perfume/cologne is an issue, the supervisor should discuss the problem with the staff member in private and should point out the specific areas to be correct- ed. If the problem persists, supervisors should follow the normal corrective action process. All department directors and supervisory employees are required to fairly and equitably enforce this policy with City employees. Disciplinary procedures for employees and supervisors who fail to follow/enforce this policy shall be in accordance with normal disciplinary procedures.

Robert Padmore City Manager

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