{"id":16746,"date":"2017-06-29T15:42:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T20:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rsslex.com\/publications\/your-employee-may-be-a-gem-but-can-he-wear-his-piercing\/"},"modified":"2022-03-17T09:53:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T13:53:38","slug":"20170629_your-employee-may-be-a-gem-but-can-he-wear-his-piercing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.staging.rsslex.com\/en\/bulletins-en\/20170629_your-employee-may-be-a-gem-but-can-he-wear-his-piercing\/","title":{"rendered":"Your employee may be a gem, but can he wear his piercing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An employer\u2019s right to regulate an employee\u2019s appearance\u00a0\u2014 jewels, tattoos, unusual clothing\u00a0\u2014 has given rise to numerous decisions over the years. Each case\u2019s characteristics can present difficulties, as seen in a recent decision by the Court of Appeal of Qu\u00e9bec (Aliments Olympus (Canada) inc. c. Union des employ\u00e9s de la restauration, m\u00e9tallurgistes unis d\u2019Am\u00e9rique, section locale 9400<\/i>, 2017 QCCA 813<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The facts: A piercing in the kitchen<\/h2>\n

The employer operates a restaurant business.<\/p>\n

One of its employees, a cook, has been wearing an eyebrow piercing for quite some time. It is a fixed piercing, that cannot be removed by the person who wears it: it must be taken off by a technician, using a special tool. The piercing can only fall if the skin is torn. While he\u2019s at work, the employee covers it with a plaster. Government inspectors in charge of health laws and regulations have never commented on this during regular visits.<\/p>\n

Still, the employer instructs him to remove his piercing, invoking s 2.2.3 of the Regulation respecting food<\/i> [\u201cRegulation<\/i>\u201d], which provides that:<\/p>\n\n\n
 <\/td>\nPersons who prepare products, wash or clean material and equipment must:<\/p>\n[\u2026]\n

(5)\u00a0\u00a0 refrain from wearing nail polish, watches, rings, earrings or other jewellery;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Upon the employee\u2019s refusal to comply, the employer makes a note in his disciplinary record.<\/p>\n

The union files a grievance against this sanction: the grievance is allowed and the sanction is cancelled. The employer takes the case to the Superior Court, then to the Court of Appeal: both confirm the arbitrator\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

The key to the decision: Concern for food safety<\/h2>\n

First, the arbitrator had mentioned the rationale for the Regulation<\/i>: to ensure the safety of food products intended for consumption.<\/p>\n

She then came to the conclusion that the \u201cother jewellery\u201d mentioned in s 2.2.3 \u201ccould not include jewellery unlikely to come into contact with food products\u201d [our translation].<\/p>\n

As noted, the employee\u2019s piercing was very unlikely to fall into the food. Therefore, given the circumstances, it did not create a risk of contamination.<\/p>\n

What employers must keep in mind<\/h2>\n

An important consideration is that this case was decided on the basis of its specific facts. It rests on the postulate that only jewellery that could fall into food is prohibited, a restriction that is not clearly expressed in the Regulation<\/i>. What should be decided regarding a chain worn around one\u2019s wrist, or a medal or a pendant hanging from a chain around one\u2019s neck?<\/p>\n

The decision does shed some light on a delicate workplace management question, but leaves out numerous dark areas. Before issuing guidelines on jewellery, a prudent employer will seek an expert\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n

By Jacques B\u00e9langer, from our Labour and Employment Law Group.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An employer\u2019s right to regulate an employee\u2019s appearance\u00a0\u2014 jewels, tattoos, unusual clothing\u00a0\u2014 has given rise to numerous decisions over the years. Each case\u2019s characteristics can present difficulties, as seen in a recent decision by the Court of Appeal of Qu\u00e9bec (Aliments Olympus (Canada) inc. c. Union des employ\u00e9s de la restauration, m\u00e9tallurgistes unis d\u2019Am\u00e9rique, section […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[244,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-labour-and-employment-law-en","category-bulletins-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYour employee may be a gem, but can he wear his piercing? - STAGING - RSS - Robinson Sheppard Shapiro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your employee may be a gem, but can he wear his piercing? - STAGING - RSS - Robinson Sheppard Shapiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An employer\u2019s right to regulate an employee\u2019s appearance\u00a0\u2014 jewels, tattoos, unusual clothing\u00a0\u2014 has given rise to numerous decisions over the years. 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