What can I do about being written up if there is no dress code?
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What can I do about being written up if there is no dress code?
My place of employment has no dress code that I am aware of my supervisor is also not aware of any dress code. Yet, I was written up for wearing jeans to work. I have been wearing jeans to work every day for the past 5 months and no one has ever said anything about it prior to this morning. What can I do about this? I refused to sign the write-up paperwork. Side note on the day I was written up for wearing jeans, I was not wearing jeans.
Asked on August 22, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
Unless this action violates the terms of an employment contract or union agreement, you have no claim here. The fact is that most work relationships are "at will". This means that your employer can set the conditions of the workplace much as it sees fit (absent some form of legally actionable discrimination). This includes disciplining you (up to an including termination). In fact, you can be written up for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
You can't do anything about it unless you have a still-in-effect written employment contract (or are covered by a union or collective bargaining agreement) which limits what you can be disciplined for (and this is not one of those things) or which provides a specified procedure for discipline which must be followed (and which was not). In the absence of such a contract, you are an employee at will with essentially no rights or protections at work: your employer may discipline (anything from "write up" to terminate) you at any time for any reason, includng violating a dress code you were not even aware of.
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