made to wear different clothes

[JennCW]

Hello,

Here is a brief description of my problem. In our work place it is allowable for ladies to wear sleeveless shirts. I just started a new medication that is delivered via a dermal patch on my upper arm which is 2"x2" square and looks like a band-aid. Yesterday I was told that I could not wear sleeveless shirts as long as I was wearing my patch because it made people uncomfortable. I was shocked.. I am taking a prescription medication as ordered by my doctor and because of it I am now subject to dress restrictions. This is not a short term medication. I will be on this for many many months. Is this a form of discrimination?

Also I believe that it is the purpose of the medication not the patch itself that makes people uncomfortable. If it was a patch say for quitting smoking or weightloss I don't believe there would be an issue. My medication however is birthcontrol. Virginia law prevents discrimination against pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.... could this be considered a related medical condition since it is used for the prevention of pregnancy??

 

[Beth3]

"Is this a form of discrimination?" "could this be considered a related medical condition since it is used for the prevention of pregnancy??" Not even close on either count.

I don't believe that these birth control patches have to be worn on the upper arm - at least the advertising on TV shows them being worn all over the body. If you wish to wear sleeveless shirts, I suggest you apply the patch where it doesn't show. Your choice.

 

[JennCW]

Patch location

The patch can be worn on either upper arm or on the inside of the hip bone below the waist line..however it can only be worn in the same place from for one week within the same month. Therefore for 2 weeks out of each month I wear it on one or the other arm. These 3 locations are the only locations recommened for this particular patch. Therefore for half a month each month my attire would be restricted because I wear something that looks like nothing more than a bandaid, its even skin toned.

To me this is a ridiculous request all together. How a band aid can be offensive to anyone is beyond me. I've seen roots showing on womens hair dye jobs that are more obvious and distracting than my bandaid and no one is telling them to wear a hat. I don't deal with the public and have my own office space so few others within my company actually see me on a day to day basis.

 

[Beth3]

If you wish to use this method of birth conrol, that is your choice. If your employer wishes you to cover it up and wear a shirt with sleeves while at work, that is their's.

As I said before, this is not remotely discrimination nor do any discrimination laws prohibit your employer from making this request.

 

[On_the_verge]

I believe that it is discriminatory for an employer to tell you what to wear. It does not matter the reason. What we be next? If you don't wear make-up will you lose your job? It's no different than that. For anyone to say it's not discrimination have them wear their favorite blue shirt to work, and have the boss tell them the color blue is now banned from the work place. How would they feel? Or, have their boss tell them they can't go sleeveless because they are too fat!
I believe those who replied to your post are being harsh to you because you are female, and becaue of the purpose of the patch. They are not looking at it from the point of view that the request is for you to alter your wardrobe which is discrimination. Either EVERYONE goes sleeveless or no one goes sleeveless. If people are uncomfortable because it's a b. control patch, they would probably be uncomfortable if you had to wear a prosthetic eye. Tell them to get over it. Contact the ACLU.

 

[Beth3]

I believe that it is discriminatory for an employer to tell you what to wear.

No, it is not discriminatory. The courts have repeatedly upheld that an employer may adopt whatever dress code they feel appropriate for their business. The only exceptions would be in the area of accommodating religious attire or a handicap. Neither applies here.

According to your logic, if an employee showed up to work dressed in a swimsuit to give a presentation to the board of directors, the employer could do nothing about it, which is ridiculous. Requesting that someone alter their wardrobe is not prohibited discrimination.