As a small business owner one of your most important assets is your reputation. You’ve got an image to maintain and you rely on your frontline employees to portray that image at all times. So what do you do when your receptionist shows up for work one day with a wild new hair color, or your head cashier arrives sporting a prominent tattoo?

The ideal situation would be to avoid these kinds of surprises altogether. Your best weapon for that is to have clear, written policies in place and make sure all your employees are aware of them.

“Employers are free to set reasonable guidelines for employee neatness, dress, appearance, and hygiene,” said Ed Wolfe, attorney, of Wolfe Law Offices, PLLC, in Bremerton. There are certain exceptions that have to be made for medical and religious reasons, he continued, and employers must be certain to apply these rules in a way that is not discriminatory or in violation of an employee’s privacy.

For example, barring a female Muslim employee from wearing a veil to work – unless it was a safety issue – could open your business up to a lawsuit. Or, enforcing a hair length dress code with one male employee but not with another could also be asking for trouble.

Historically both Washington state and federal courts have held that reasonable grooming policies are not within the scope of laws prohibiting discrimination against gender. For example, the state ruled in a lawsuit against Albertsons that the store’s policy of restricting hair length for male employees does not fall within the state’s sexual discrimination statutes.

“It doesn’t mean it can’t be attacked,” said Wolfe. “But if I were advising an employer I would suggest that they incorporate a grooming code into their other policies.”

“As with most types of legal planning the old phrase ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ holds true here,” said attorney John Kenney, of Lineberry Kenny’s Poulsbo office. “When an employer doesn’t have good workplace policies in place and doesn’t have everyone – managers, human resources, and so on – implementing those policies consistently, you can have potential lawsuits. Most employee disputes arise from perceptions of disparate treatment.”

Attorney Diane Russell, of Beattie Russell in Silverdale, also stressed the importance of setting reasonable policies and making sure these policies were enforced across the board.

“The main thing to remember is to be uniform with your uniforms,” she said, whether that uniform is an actual uniform, or simply an outline of acceptable workplace attire.

The larger the employer is, the more important it is to have written policies in place, she continued. An employer with two or three employees probably does not have to have every policy in writing.

Russell also emphasized that employers with teenage employees should have clear policies outlined regarding appearance and behavior. Young people who may be new to the workplace are in particular need of having guidelines to help teach them what is acceptable.

All three attorneys cautioned that care should be taken when creating an employee policy manual, to ensure that it cannot be construed as a contract. There have been cases in the state of Washington where courts found certain employee manuals to be contractually binding. For example, any manual that promises specific rewards for specific behaviors is treading in dangerous territory.

To avoid this pitfall, the employer should make clear in any policy manual that the company is an at-will employer, and review the policies for any language that could be interpreted as “contract language.” For example, said Russell, many employers no longer outline probationary periods in their manuals, as the language used often implied guaranteed employment once the probationary term had passed.

Establishing policies for acceptable behavior is also important, both for maintaining your business reputation and for protecting your business. It’s smart to have policies outlining your company’s sexual harassment policies and tolerance for political, racial, or other potentially inflammatory rhetoric in the workplace.

“You, as an employer, are liable for your employees’ behavior at work,” said Kenney. He cited a case where racial jokes were being told at a company’s loading dock. The employer was not aware that this was happening, but an employee still successfully sued the employer. A clear policy outlining that this sort of behavior was unacceptable may have provided the employer with some protection.

So what happens if you don’t have policies written down? Luckily policies don’t have to be in writing and they can be set after the fact, so you can still address the issue.

“Open communication is important,” said Russell.

The best way to handle any situation where an employee is violating your policies, whether those policies are written down or not, would be to speak to the employee in private, let them know what your standards and policies are, and ask them to respect those guidelines. Then give them time to correct the problem, and finally, write everything down regarding your communication and keep this documentation in the employee’s personnel file.

Washington is an at-will employment state, meaning that employers — with some exceptions — can fire an employee whenever they want, with or without cause, and that most employees are free to leave a job whenever they want, as well. Still, it is not necessarily a prudent course of action to simply fire an employee on the spot.

Documenting problems and communications with an employee that has violated a company policy, and giving them time to correct the problem or comply with your request, can be important steps to avoiding accusations of wrongful termination.

Ultimately there’s no way to guarantee that your star sales rep won’t show up for work one day with an eyebrow ring and purple hair, or that an employee you’ve let go won’t take you to court over what they perceive as unfair treatment. But a little preparation, clear communication, and thorough documentation can go a long way to help avoid these problems — and to reduce your risk if problems arise.

(Editor’s Note: This article is designed for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. You should seek the advice of your own attorney or corporate counsel if you have specific questions about the issues addressed here.).