Employee suspended over ‘unnatural’ hair color
July 8, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Dubious decisions, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
As an HR pro, you know that when it comes to dress codes, the more specific the language, the better. That way, there’s no confusion.
Apparently, there is some confusion over the dress code at The Grande movie theater in Winston-Salem, NC.
The theater has suspended 17-year-old employee Meyosha Love for ten days because her hair braids didn’t meet company guidelines, according to a local TV station.
The guidelines say hair color must “be a color that naturally occurs in nature on humans.”
Love says her braids are burgundy. She says it’s a hair color that occurs in nature on people — and notes it’s not something like blue or purple. You can judge for yourself via this photo.
After her suspension is over, Love plans to hide the braids under a hat at work.
She says changing the style isn’t an easy option. Braids can take up to nine hours and $200 at a salon.
Given the theater’s written policy, who do you think is right? Let us know.
Tags: dress code, hair, suspended
July 8th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Sometimes you just have to pick the battles worth fighting. Burgundy…auburn….red??? If it is worth the fight and the publicity then I say the business should go for it, but it wouldn’t be a fight I would want to be in. If it were blue, purple…then maybe there is a legitimate point…we all have standards we have to live by, but come on!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I think her hair color is fine.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I think The Grande is just a bit out of touch. Her hair color is fine. It is not an outrageous color and most importantly, at least in the photo, the hair style is neat. Times have changed and we have to change also. I’m sure there are bigger battles to be fought!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I think this HR group needs more to do.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Her hair color is fine, her braids are neat and presentable. The style does not effect the clientel that is visiting the theater. I think the HR department needs to evaluate themselves and decide what is more important. Hair color or a valuable employee.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:53 am
If you go back to the statement in the policy “be a color that naturally occurs in nature on humans.” Then you cannot allow this color. If you do then you are not following your own policy and then you open the door for blue, and gree, and purple.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:06 am
HR must not have enough to do if they have to harass someone over their hair, which I do not see nothing wrong with. Maybe someone in HR is jealous of her hair.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I agree with Kristie. While the hair color is not outrageous, it does not naturally occur in nature on humans, therefore, it should not be allowed. The guidelines are there to define what is acceptable to the employer and what is not. Guidelines and opinions vary throughout the regions of the United States and the entire picture needs to be looked at, not just personal opinion on what is acceptable in your region. It is difficult and may seem unfair but the guidlines are there and should be adhered to. Otherwise, they mean nothing and you open the door to other issues.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:28 am
The color is not natural & should not be allowed.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Unfortunately, if this policy is disregarded you set a precedent. I do believe that HR should have spoken with the employee and given her an opportunity to remedy the situation prior to suspension.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:33 am
The color of her hair does occur naturally on humans. I have a friend who has naturally the same color red as her tips. I have another friend who has the same hair color that she has naturally. They just don’t occur together.
If that HR department bans her hair, they had better start looking at other people who highlight or dye their hair. After working in the personal care field for 8 years, I can say with authority that there are plenty of hair colors created to look like a natural brown, red or blond that do not occur naturally on a person. For example, there are plenty of red colors that are too orange or too red to actually occur in nature. However, people wear them and pass them off as their own all the time. I wonder if they’ve really looked at the hair of all of their employees.
If they do not, then they are opening the door for legal problems from Love’s end.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I do agree with the others that policies are meant to be adhered to they are created for a reason. However, the questions need to be asked, did the policy go into effect after she was hired or before? Did she change her hair style and was then disciplined or has she been warned in the past? I would also want to know if any other employees have had similiar disciplinary action taken against them for consistency sake. Hair color, this one in particular, does seem like a minor thing though to make such a big deal about and could come across as a type of harassment.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Editor’s note: Love says she offered a compromise to theater management regarding her hair, and they didn’t accept it. She did not specify what the offered compromise was.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Red hair (also referred to as auburn, ginger or titian) varies from a deep orange-red through burnt orange to bright copper. (from Wikipedia) As well as in humans, red hair can be found in other mammalian species such as orangutans, squirrels, goats, and highland cattle. Red hair or fur can be found in some breeds of dog and cat, and certain species of fox and deer.
While looking at the picture, her hair color resembles that color of a fox. So does it not occur in “nature”?
I wouldn’t want to take on this responsibility to determine what shade of red is acceptable. If it was blue or purple, then I would see a reason for this action. The school systems also have a policy on outrageous hair color. I would think if they were ok with it, then so should the movie theatre.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Pardon the pun, but I think they are “splitting hairs” to have disciplined this young lady so severely.
Unless they received a number of complaints from their customers, which I doubt they did, I see nothing wrong with her hair or hair color. Remember, it is not about our comfort level, in this case, it’s about the clientele.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:49 am
If the company wants to create a stringent, conservative professional dress code, they are entitled to do so- as long as they are consistent across the board. As an example, Disney theme parks are extremely strict in their appearance guidelines becuase their intent is to appeal to a very wide range of age groups and nationalities- down to a detailed description of the types of acceptable earrings. Customer appeal contributes to generating revenue.
All aspects of company policies should contribute to generating revenue while remaining legally compliant. This particular policy requires re-wording, however, as there are individuals that do have strikingly red and burgandy hair colors.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I actually had a similar situation happen this morning. An employee of mine came to work with her whole head bright red. She interacts with the public on a regular basis so we had to advise her that it is not appropiate and she needs to change it. So, when I saw this article, it really intrigued my interest. I agree that if the policy says “a color that naturally occurs in nature on humans”, then that is what the expectation of the company is. Do I think that her color was outrageous and that she should have been sent home? No, I probably would have thought differently had I not had to deal with an employee this morning with a whole head of bright red hair. I agree with Cherene, there is not a lot of information to go on to make a decision just based on the fact that they sent her home because some of her hair was red. I think that this employee probably has had other incidents that have occured and this was the last straw. I think that regardless of every situation, in HR, we have to learn to choose our battles.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
To CeCe, Tammy, and Kriste, red, burgundy, and auburn are colors that occur naturally on humans, so I’d say the girl definitely has a case based on the wording used in their policy. It may not be HER natural hair color, but again those aren’t the words used in the company’s policy. They are definitely opening the door for a lawsuit.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I think the HR Dept has to consider why they are enforcing this rule with Love. Are there other reasons why they are taking this position? Her picture shows a neat, clean looking young woman. Her hair is not outrageous nor a wierd color. Does this HR Dept suspend everyone that colors their hair, because hair is not by nature all an even color or streaked. It is better to look for a professional appearance than to be picky about a hair style that could open your company up to a law suit for discrimination.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Her hair color is fine. If we are just talking about hair color and not any other underlying motives.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:18 am
“Naturally Occur in Humans” — ok, what exactly does that really mean? Humans have all types of hair color. Nonetheless, I expected to see someone with purple, green or pink hair which I wonder where they can get a job, except for a tatoo parlor; however, this employee’s hair color wasn’t even worth a verbal warning, much less a suspension. Then they wonder why they can’t find people who want to work for minimum wage, it’s because they don’t want to put up with nonsense such as this.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:20 am
This is outrageous! I am quite sure that someone in the HR Department has gray hairs that are NOW dyed with an “unnatural color”. This policy is absurd, especially for a movie theatre setting. She has been employed with the company for almost 2 years and was given a 10 day suspension for her “unnatural” hair color. How many days suspension does an employee receive for being late?
Her hair color is not a distraction nor is it offensive. They need to revise the policy.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I would like to see a full copy of the company dress code. For me, her hair would not be an issue. If it were green or purple, then perhaps the company would have more grounds for their actions. I think this is a case of a company goin to the extreme.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I agree with most of your readers. This is crazy! her hair looks good, At least it is well taken care of. I deal with dirty, greesy, unkept and worst.
Pick your battles People!
July 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
The scariest part of this scenario is that they did not give her the opportunity to correct what they consider to be an infraction. Wearing a hat seems like a reasonable compromise that would not cause undue hardship on this employee, such as going 10 days without pay. If I were an employee at this company, I would start looking elsewhere. Someone was on a power trip that put the company at risk for a lawsuit as well as bringing down morale. Employees want to know that they will be treated fairly whatever the situation.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I do think thatt his manager has gone to the extreme, unless there are other documented pesonnel issues that have occured. My question would be, what is the policy on disciplinary action? In my experience, typically in this kind of work environment HR is not always notified before this type of disciplinary action occurs. Is this a small business that does not have an HR department, or is this a business ran like many fast food restaurants where there is a central office in another city? There is a lot of criteria missing to make a good judgement from an outsider to the situation. Either way, times have changed and the policy needs to be updated!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Because it is a policy, the employer must enforce what they have set in place in order to avoid other issues. Is it a good policy or thought out policy… probably not. I agree with others that the employee did not look bad – hair was neat and color wasn’t extreme. The punishment was also very
severe for something this minor… overall, rethink the policy so you don’t to enforce something that isn’t worth the time.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:44 am
We cover hair color extensivley during employee orientaiton. I do not think her hair color should considered unatural. Blue, pinks etc plus white and black are more in line with our thinking for unatural. Multi layers are not acceptible. I always ask staff to ask before they try a new hair color to be sure.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I expected something purple or pink also. I agree with the very first comment from Jackie T… “you have to pick your battles”. This isn’t what I would consider an extreme hairstyle or color by any means and suspension seems a bit harsh.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Good employees are hard to find, and unless this girl is not a good employee, they should leave her alone. The color is not extreme.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Move into the 21st century! Purple, blue, green, pink, red, black or blonde hair is a current fashion. If the employee is clean and well groomed and does a good job, that’s what counts. Hair color along with tattoos and piercings belong to this time in our country. People need to be allowed to express themselves in this world and it is certainly a safe way to do it. Throw out the old ideas of what is “appropriate” to wear at work…go to the core of what kind of work a person does and not what they look like!
July 16th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Ok, while I understand that in today’s society tattoos and piecings and even hair color is a way to express yourself, there is also a time and a place for everything. With that being said, there is a problem with having visible tattoos, piercings, blue, purple, green, and pink hair in certain professions. Do I think that a movie theater is one of those? No I do not. I also think that there was nothing wrong with her hair. In some professions, it would not be appropiate to have visible tattoos up your arms, or visible piercings.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I agree with the majority of responders – the girl appears to be neat and clean, including her hair. She works at a movie theater where I would not think her hair color should be an issue, regardless of the current color. If she is a good employee, let it be. If she was not a good employee, there are other issues that would come into play, more than hair color, for which she could be suspended. I agree – pick your battles, but pick them well. I find this to be a little discriminatory unless there are underlying factors to this case. I personally have a sign in my office that I am thinking should be sent to the theater – “it’s our policy – it doesn’t have to make sense!”
August 8th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I would probably say there was some sort of prejudice from management; and there’s a good chance that the company doesn’t even have an HR department. Older, more conservative people sometimes have trouble accepting things like that, but it could get them in a load of trouble if they try to be too controlling.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 am
My personnal opinion on the matter is.. she was hired her to do a job not how she looks. What if she had came in with her hair dyed white or platinum? Which is unnnatural for a young person. She is being discriminated against. Our society has changed alot in the past 10 years people just have to have more tolerance with younger people and the phases they go through to be unique and find their way to becoming an adult.