my company says we can’t wear underwire bras
A reader writes:
My company just introduced a new company-wide policy that you cannot wear an underwire bra due to setting off an alarm on a metal detector in the entrance of the building. Is this illegal in California?
It’s legal.
It’s actually been litigated in multiple states (and, as far as I know, upheld each time). It’s a particularly common policy in prisons, where it’s considered a security measure but has ended up in court because of the difficulties it has caused female lawyers in visiting incarcerated clients. There was also a case where a UPS employee was told to stop wearing bras that set off their metal detectors because it kept causing delays in moving people through security. UPS told the employee to wear a different bra or find another job.
So far, these policies seem to be legal.
They’re also really, really problematic for many women. For people with larger chests, bras without underwire often don’t provide sufficient support. And having to replace a bunch of bras overnight could be incredibly pricey; bras are expensive, especially in larger sizes.
Hopefully your coworkers can band together as a group and push back. Point out that people can be wanded if they set off an alarm, and that loads of other places with metal detectors handle this just fine without dictating people’s bra choice.