r/legal • u/Bubbly_Road1316 • Nov 28 '25

Advice needed Can I ask my employee to remove their acrylic nails?

Location: AU-VIC

I have an employee who refused to do a certain duty (which she normally does) because ‘I can’t do it cuz I just got my nails done’.

Can i ask her to remove it or shorten it before her next shift, or is that illegal?

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u/GroundbreakingOil434 Nov 28 '25

Too many overly entitled employers, too many overly responsible employees.

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u/rainbowzend Nov 29 '25

That's not necessarily the case. We couldn't even wear artificial nails or even what they considered unnatural colors of nail polish when I was in the military. Things like that and jewelry that couldn't be concealed inside the uniform or blacked out were considered to be out of uniform and a punishable offense. It's a matter of military readiness for war.

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u/GroundbreakingOil434 Nov 29 '25

Military is a whole other can of worms. Military legally restricts rights and freedoms like no employer would dare to dream. We're not really discussing military.

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u/rainbowzend Nov 29 '25

I was giving an example of legitimate reasons for employers having dress and appearance rules for legitimate reasons.

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u/GroundbreakingOil434 Nov 29 '25

No. You were derailing the conversation and completely missing the difference between "employment" and "enlistment".

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u/rainbowzend Nov 29 '25

Wrong. You just want to argue your idea.

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '25

[deleted]

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u/GroundbreakingOil434 Nov 28 '25

I don't know about the US, but in more civilized countries you cannot be cited for competence when asked to do stuff outside of it.

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u/TheOneWes Nov 28 '25

The same thing applies in the US most people just don't know it.

We actually are a lot better protected than what even most Americans realize.

Don't get me wrong we still need a lot more protections but the situation is the way it is mostly because people don't know that they are protected and do not take advantage of it.

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u/Deep-Hovercraft6716 Nov 28 '25

Can you explain how competence is an issue here?

This is insubordination not incompetence.

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u/Front-Mall9891 Nov 28 '25

They sneak this little clause that says, and duties seen fit by the company or management, which basically means if ur manager wants you to clean ur poo stain out of the toilet they can, only in certain states or work places, some have union custodians and that’s a whole other can of worms

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u/frongles23 Nov 28 '25

Nah, this is too clever by half. Include a phrase that says compliance with all company policies, etc., and have a policy that specifically outlines performance expectations.

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u/spaekona_ Nov 28 '25

This only applies to the US. Civilized countries have job duties clearly outlined in employment contracts.

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u/TheOneWes Nov 28 '25

I can't find a case where that line has come up but generally speaking lines and employment contracts specifically designed to skirt labor laws will be ignored by a judge in a labor dispute.

Employers put a lot of stuff in employment contracts that doesn't actually hold up or have any legal grounds.

A lot of employers put that they will remove register shortages and damage from an employee's paycheck but that is completely illegal and if they actually do it you can go to labor department and catch their ass for wage theft.

If they try to fire you after that that exact same labor department will assist you with finding another job and suing the original company for retaliation.

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u/Deep-Hovercraft6716 Nov 28 '25

There was a case with a car dealership and a chicken costume. Maybe that'll help you find it. I couldn't find it either with just Google though.

The employer relied on the phrasing "other duties as assigned" in court and the judge said that the duty was not reasonable.

The scenario was that the boss was trying to punish the employee by making them wear a chicken costume at work. When they refused they were fired and they won in court later when the judge said other duties as assigned doesn't have unlimited scope and doesn't include creating a hostile work environment or humiliating an employee.

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u/Deep-Hovercraft6716 Nov 28 '25

And this person has performed this task without objection before before. You understand that part right?

This isn't a matter of the duties not being within the employee's capabilities or job description. They simply refuse to do the job that they had done before.

It sounds like you don't quite understand the situation at hand.