When Macy's management decided to implement a strict dress code -- staff members can wear slacks, skirts or dresses but all items must be black -- employees struck back with a lawsuit.

The union that represents workers at the downtown Pittsburgh Macy's recently filed a grievance to rescind the new dress code, which goes into effect Sept. 4 for about 17,600 workers at all 113 Macy's stores in the nine-state Midwest division, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (The dress code already is in effect at most other divisions.)

Thomas R. Scheid, a union representative, told the newspaper the new requirements "will result in significant out-of-pocket expense" for employees. Macy's, which offers employees a "deep discount" on store clothing, has countered that the dress code creates a more professional environment and makes sales personnel more identifiable.

This isn't the first time employees have protested uniform requirements: In 2003, Abercrombie & Fitch paid $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over allegations that it forced California employees to buy and wear its clothes on the job.

Within the floral industry, opinions on dress codes and uniforms are mixed.

Regina Cannon Treml of Belladonna Florist in Eden Prairie, Minn., initially considered asking her three employees to wear matching pants or logo T-shirts. Ultimately, she decided against the idea, primarily because she didn't want to squelch the shop's creative atmosphere.

"I wear jeans -- some with pattern and some plain," she admits. "At first, I was concerned ... that I wasn't 'dressed' enough, but I actually have women in Chamber and business groups who now tell me a fun pair of jeans with a design or pattern has become my look, and they respond very positively to it."

At Designs of the Times Florist, Inc., in Melbourne, Fla., Tina Stoecker, AIFD, PFCI, has a dress code that "covers everything from non-skid shoes to body jewelry." 

"My reasons are safety and image," says Stoecker, who gives each of her 20 employees two complementary logo shirts and an apron and requires them to wear black or tan pants or "hole-free" jeans. "If I don't spell out the attire, then I would have high school, college [students] and others that arrive with holes, half shirts with skin showing ... definitely not attire that promotes the professionalism of the company."

While The Bloomery, Inc. in Butler, Pa., doesn't have a set uniform, the shop does have a "no holes, no slang or graphic designs" policy for its five employees, says co-owner Kathy Dudley. Dudley and her husband, Rich, also provide designers with black lab coats as a courtesy -- to keep the designers' own clothes clean -- and a marketing tool -- to boost the store's "professional, modern" image.

"I think that the uniform decision should be part of the store's branding and positioning strategy," Dudley says. "For some upscale florists, artsy or professional dress is more appropriate than a uniform. In rural or suburban areas like ours, business casual is often the norm."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

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