Paying for Uniforms

Are my logo T-shirts a uniform?

“We don’t really have uniforms but I do require my employees to wear a T-shirt with my company logo. Is that okay?”

HR Survival Tip

You can certainly require your employees to wear a company T-shirt or (most) any other type of “uniform” representing your company. You just need to remember a few things:

• You need to pay for the uniform, which means any apparel and accessories of distinctive design or color. You wouldn’t need to pay for something like black pants but might need to pay for red ones because that’s not something the average person owns.
• You may ask for a reasonable deposit for the uniform but you need to provide a receipt.
• If the uniform(s) aren’t returned upon termination, you can deduct the cost from the employee’s final paycheck only if you have prior written authorization from the employee. That means you should make it part of the paperwork when you first give the employee the uniform.
• You cannot make the employee pay for normal wear and tear of the uniform.
• You are responsible for maintenance of the uniform. Yes, that’s what you think it means… legally, you are supposed to pay to have the uniform cleaned or to pay the employee to clean their uniforms.