new thread
Long time lurker here...
I will post pics someday.
I know this is an issue that has not only been discussed here, it has been an issue that at one time or another affects most all of us.
I have had long hair most of my 38 years. Cut it on only a few occasions, court was one of them... (another story, another time) Worked for the Post Office for seven of the last nine years, never a problem and, I was a City Carrier, not working behind the walls in the processing plants. Out there, as a rep. of the federal gov. again, never an issue. Now I am working for FedEx, have been for the last year and a half. My hair is now becoming a problem for one of the managers. It's just getting to the shoulder as far as how long it is. (was mid back when at the P.O.) I am a P.M. courier picking up packages from shipping and rec. departments at local companys where some of the people are on the other end of the weird scale when it comes to "looks"... I'm not knocking any one, to each thier own.
Getting to the point here, being that FedEx is non-union I don't have anybody to stick up for me so to speak. As with a union job there is someone to defend me if needed. I'm on my own as far as that goes. Take the ear-rings out... Sure, no problem, cover the tattoos... I can do that too, But, I draw the line at it's time for a crew-cut talk... None of the customers are complaining, nor would they. This manager just has a military background and feels that everyone should conform to the same. I'll be "writen up" starting tomorrow every day that it is not cut until Wednesday when I'll be at three for the year and subject to getting the old "Pink Slip"... It's Sunday night and No, the hair is not cut.
The question here in this thread is, do I have a discrimination leg to stand on in this case...? Should I say I am a converted Shiek and it's against my religion...? Should I just stand my ground and say there is nothing in the employee handbook saying it needs to be a certain legnth, just clean and a "reasonable hairstyle"... It's REASONABLE to me... Right...?
I don't plan on losing this job over it so I am looking for a good defense for tomorrows "throw-down"...
Thanks for letting me rant a bit.
Jay.....
I think you should visit a lawyer because it certainly sounds like discrimination to me. I don't understand what all the fuss is about? I always thought of FED-EX as a blue-collar job......
All The Best,
Chris
It's often the blue collar jobs where there is the most hassle, or at least the jobs that require the least qualifications. If you have qualifications you have leverage. If you don't, or if you only have very basic ones (e.g. a high school diploma, GCSEs, or whatever you get when you leave secondary school in whatever country you are in) then they figure that you are easily replaceable, i.e. they can find someone with the 'right' haircut without having to worry that they don't have the right bits of paper they need to do the job.
There is a message in this, with no disrespect meant to the original poster. Our mothers were right, study hard and get qualifications that other people don't have, and you will get one leg up over idiot employers (not how our mothers would have phrased it, perhaps).
Even those who are not academically gifted can usually get a license or some other bit of paper that qualifies them for a trade. In fact that applies at many levels, not just for blue collar workers. I work in a law firm, and as Bill would likely vouch for, law firms in the US have a two-tier class structure, 'professionals' and 'staff'. I don't have a law degree, but being licensed as a patent agent puts me on the right side of that particular wall, with the lawyers, whereas paralegals, many of whom have degrees as good as mine or better, fall on the other side of the great divide with the secretaries and the mail room clerks.
If you can't get licensed for something that your short haired rivals can't do, you need to acquire skills that make you indispensable to employers, and which others don't have. That could be almost anything, but I'm pretty sure it isn't delivering packages. Almost anyone can do this, although I won't pretend it's always easy.
As for suing the b*st*rds, the position is better in Europe, but in most states of the US you don't have much chance. DC has a nice statute that protects 'hair style', but I don't think any of the states do, and the federal law has been eviscerated by bad decisions delivered by short haired judges.
I'm a long-time lurker as well...
Make your manager show you in the rulebook where it says "no long hair on males". If he can do this, then find a new job. If not, he has no grounds to write you up.
First, how long was your hair when you obtained the job? If fairly long then the objections should have been raised at that point. The fact that you have been there for a period of time gives credence to your position.
Are there others in the company with hair similar to yours? Are they being dunned also? If you are the only one of several that is receiving problems you can go up a level or so to address this problem.
Contact the human resources dept (I assume it is in Memphis) and ask them the company position and how it is enforced. If your supervisor is out of sync with the rest of the company you have a solid leg to stand on.
Is there another group or supervisor that you know has no issues with long hair that would be willing to take you in a transfer? If so, pursue this route.
All of these suggestions avoid the direct confrontation with your supervisor and/or the company itself. Should you need to go further pursue a complaint, again through the human resources group. And, as a last resort, look for a lawyer skilled in non-union labor issues. Usually you can get an initial consultation free or at a reasonable fee to get an idea of the strength of your position.
Best of luck,
Big George
Sounds like discrimination to me. Are there any females working there with long hair? If there are, you definately should fight this.
Jay,
I am with you...but armed and ready when my Governmental job talks of hair for men...check out the below and file a complaint or at least show this information to your supervisor when he mentions males should have short hair...PLEASE keep the board posted on any actions etc. as MOST of us have issues of this type at work.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), age (40 or older), religion, or disability.
Sex discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of that person’s sex.
It is also illegal for a company to take action against you because you complained of discrimination or because you were part of a discrimination case.
The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
The laws enforced by EEOC prohibit an employer from using neutral employment policies and practices that have a negative impact on the employment of a person because of his or her race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, or disability, that are not job-related and necessary to the operation of the business.
In general, an employer may establish a dress code which applies to all employees or employees within certain job categories. There are a few possible exceptions.
A dress code must not treat some employees less favorably because of their national origin. For example, a dress code that prohibits certain kinds of ethnic dress, such as traditional African or East Indian attire, but otherwise permits casual dress would treat some employees less favorably because of their national origin.
An employer may require all workers to follow a uniform dress code even if the dress code conflicts with some workers' ethnic beliefs or practices.
If the dress code conflicts with religious practices and the employee requests an accommodation, the employer must modify the dress code unless doing so would result in undue hardship.
If an employee needs to modify a dress requirement because of a disability, the employer may need to grant that employee a reasonable accommodation.
If you believe you have been treated differently in a job situation because of your race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), age (40 or older), religion, or disability; and you want us to investigate your complaint, you need to file a charge.
Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by EEOC laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases).
Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered. : Long time lurker here...
Keep in mind that judges to date have mostly allowed different hair rules for men and women. This is contrary to logic where sex discrimination is prohibited, but judges do not always follow logic; they do what they want. Because of these judicial decisions, FEDERAL anti-discrimination agencies have been told not to take male hair-length cases.
If your need for long hair is based on ethnicity, religion, disability, or some other protected category, you are apt to fare much better than if it is based on sex.
A new area of the law is protection of intersexed people and transgenders. Some people see having long hair as part of their identity in navigating that tough road. How this need will play out in the courts is at the present time undetermined.
Bill
In fact, I think the EEOC says something like they beleive that the statute covers it, but that because of these decisions they can't take cases, i.e. they are nice enough to say that they beleive we are in the right and imply that the court decisions are mistaken. IOW, moral support, if nothing else.
Maybe we should all write FedEx's corporate headquarters and tell them that there policies are crap. Also to tell them that we will boycott them because of this.
As they say, the pen is mightier then the sword.
Boycott? plip! Do you hear that? plip! It's the sound of a drop falling into a bucket. I don't think you can really boycott FedEx anyway--the USPS sometimes contracts with them. Also, you'd have to boycott any business that usees them, etc.
It seems like in order for a boycott to be effective, you need 1. a sufficient percentage of the existing customers involved and 2. the ability to substitute some other good. An example of success in this arena would be the Selma bus boycott--Black residents were a significant percentage of the previous bus passengers, and they started carpooling. An example of failure would be the Cuban embargo--The rest of the world trades with Cuba, so we fail the percentage factor.
That's not to say there isn't value in boycotting as a matter of conscience. I think we just have to understand it's for our own personal spiritual health, and that it's not likely to change anything. One of my friend's, his mother boycotted Nestle for years because of their lies to 3rd world women regarding the health of breastfeeding, simply to drive formula sales.
Well, this is true. It helps even more if the pen is in the hand of a journalist or a lawyer.
Ever talk to the other managers that don't care how you wear your hair?
I would be also tempted to tell that one manager that it is none of his busness how i wear my hair but that may cost your job.
I worked for a mc donalds where one manager tried to get me to cut my hair, I eventually quitted that job.
try parying to your higherr power as you understand IT. You might get some good ideas for your defence.
Just a follow-up as to what has happened... NOTHING he (my manager)was off all week and will be transfering to another area as of a week from Monday... Talk about a "jag-in-the-bag"...! He is the only one with an issue and is leaving next week. Man, I'm glad I didn't do anything drastic. One thing that has me really pissed me off is, raises came out this past week and I was given one of the least from my group by 50%. this means if everyone else got a dollar, I got .50 cents... I'm about this close ---> <--- to gerting a mohawk and dying it purple and orange plus getting a tattoo on the side of my head that tells everyone exactly how I feel about this situation... I guess that he would then tell me it's time to grow my hair out to cover my new tat... (jerk)
Anyway, there was my week in a nutshell...
Thanks for all the input and ideas as far as EEOC and such. I knew that the EEOC could help but, just how much is yet to be seen.
I'll keep everyone updated...!
Jay.....