What is the stupidest/most unfair employer policy you've ever had to enforce?

[Winnie]

I used to work for a marketing/pr agency that specialized in the beauty industry. Our clients were spas, cosmetology schools, beauty supply distributors, plastic surgeons, hair salons, etc. My boss was an extremely froggy-looking creep who was obsessed with how his female employees looked because “we work in the beauty industry and must present a certain image”. Even though we worked out of his basement. Which was in a remote suburb. Even though we saw our clients MAYBE once a month. Every single day we were required to wear pantyhose, business suits, and makeup. That was written in our employee manual.

I’ll never forget walking out the door to go have a meeting with one of my clients who was an hour or two away. Right when I was zipping my coat, my boss said to me, “Uh, are you going to put on lipstick?”

[Sampiro]

@VunderBob

I’m another former EDSer. The dress code was unreal. Pulling data cable in an automotive plant in a wool lend suit was unreal. Called in to the same plant at 3 AM because of a system crash, and I had to wear a suit again.

The biggest insult was “Well, you’re just not a team player”. 20 years later, I take that phrase as a compliment.

It relaxed a bit (not a lot) after Ross Perot sold it. A friend of mine showed up on his first day at one of their accounts during Generalissimo Perot’s days wearing a classic navy blue blazer, slacks, white shirt and tie and was told by his boss “We have a title for people who wear blazers to work… security guards”. He literally had to go home and change on his first day, and he didn’t even work with the public.