New York State’s fair employment laws generally follow the federal equal opportunity employment laws, however, there are some differences. For instance, in addition to state laws protecting employees from discrimination based on sex and gender, New York’s laws extend to gender identity and expression (Pynes, 2013; State of New York Executive Department, 2020). Related protection is extended to an employee’s preferred pronouns, titles, and names without the requirement of any proof of these preferences (State of New York Executive Department, 2020). Furthermore, appearance standards, including dress codes and uniforms, cannot be differentiated based on gender or sex (State of New York Executive Department, 2020). These additions stem from the currently developing standards regarding the greater focus on gender and sexual identity and expression.
An employer has a right to institute policies regarding standards for appearance. For instance, uniforms and dress codes are meant to demonstrate the uniformity of an organization’s employees. Furthermore, as is the case with police departments, religious, political, or other group-identifying symbols can be undesirable as they undermine the organization’s image as neutral in these matters (Pynes, 2013). By the same token, an employer may institute policies regarding grooming and hygiene. When developing appearance standards, however, employers should consider issues that may be related to discrimination. The standards should not be discriminatory, for instance, by imposing different requirements on employees based on their sex, gender identity, or disability status (Management Study Guide, n. d.). Furthermore, it is possible to create indirectly discriminatory standards. Such standards do not specifically target a particular group, but still require a disproportionate amount of effort for that group to comply.
References
Management Study Guide (n. d.) Ethical issues in HR. Web.
Pynes, J. E. (2013). Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations: A strategic approach (4th ed.). Wiley.
State of New York Exexccutive Department (2020). Equal employment opportunity in New York State: Rights and responsibilities. A handbook for employees of New York State Agencies. Web.