Creating a Dress Code for Workers

Question: I have a small company with a dozen employees. One young man I hired recently has been coming to work in clothes that are torn and dirty. Should I establish a formal dress code or talk to him privately?

Answer: Create an employee manual that includes a dress code and make sure all your employees are aware of it and agree to abide by it. If your employee refuses, you can eventually discharge him if he doesn’t comply. If he sues, you’ll have written company policy on your side.

“Write up the dress policy and the ramifications for not following it,” suggested Victoria Seitz, a marketing professor at Cal State San Bernardino and author of “Your Executive Image” (AdamsMedia, 2000).

Make copies for all your employees and go over the policy with them. If you see violations, follow up. Seitz recommends establishing a series of warnings: “The first time, the person is warned and asked to go home and change. The second time, the person is sent home without pay. If there’s a third time, the person is fired.”

You might also try talking privately to the employee about the importance of attire and how it affects your business image and customer relations.

“If this person does not have any nice clothes, or the money to pay retail, you can suggest that he go to the Goodwill and Salvation Army shops to pick up suitable attire,” Seitz said.

You could even take him to a thrift store, Seitz said, “and help him pick something out.”

For guidelines on creating an employee manual, search the Internet using key words such as “dress code” and “employee handbook.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers this helpful primer on the Internet at www.sba.gov/gopher/Business-Development/Success-Series/Vol10/handbook .txt.

Contractor or Employee a Better Fit for Knitter?

Q: I design, create and sell knitted garments from my home studio. Can I hire work-at-home knitters to produce my designs on an occasional basis, paying them by the piece?

A: The short answer: Yes. However, there are many laws governing employment that you need to understand before you get started.

First, the laws that govern garment manufacturing require you to, among other things, register annually with the state and pass an exam demonstrating your knowledge of safety, health and garment manufacturing, said Elizabeth Staggs Wilson, an attorney with Los Angeles law firm Littler Mendelson.

“Violations of these laws may result in [your] being charged with a misdemeanor, and stiff penalties may be imposed for noncompliance,” she said. “This is true whether you retain the services of an independent contractor or an employee.”

The second issue is whether you will treat these workers as employees or as independent contractors.

If they are independent contractors, you will not have to comply with a host of state and federal labor laws, Wilson noted. However, it is not easy for a person to qualify as an independent contractor in California.

“Consult with an attorney before attempting to treat any worker as an independent contractor, as the penalties for misclassification can run into thousands of dollars over a relatively short time,” Wilson warned.

If your lawyer determines that you need to hire your occasional knitters as employees, you’ll have to comply with California’s wage and hour laws, paying them in accordance with Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order 1-2001.

These regulations, which apply to manufacturers, do allow you to pay your employees on a piece-rate basis, Wilson said. They also impose minimum wage and overtime rules as well as myriad other requirements.

Again, consult with legal counsel and review the website of the California Division of Labor Standards at www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/dlse.html before you start.

Got a question about running or starting a small enterprise? E-mail it to karen.e.klein@ latimes.com or mail it to In Box, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.