Retail Clothing Industry’s Apparel Rules Called Illegal by San Francisco Employment Lawyer Daniel Feder
Jenny Strasburg, Chronicle Staff Writer
Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, October 2, 2002
Clothing stores in California routinely require employees to buy and wear at work the brands they sell, a practice that violates state law, according to industry experts and the California Labor Commission.
According to a lawsuit brought by attorney Daniel Feder‘s , the practice of requiring employees to buy specific clothes violates the California Labor Code and the state’s Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders, experts say.
California defines “uniform” as any clothing of a specified design or manufacturer, including a specific high-end fashion brand. Making employees buy their own uniforms is “unquestionably illegal,” Locker said.