We currently have an employee that has hygeine issues...he stinks and doesn't keep up his general appearance.  He has been given expectations of what is acceptable. Is this a discrimination issue for us?

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Cheri Larson

I can't speak much to the "general appearance" part without more details. What do you mean he doesn't keep it up? Doesn't tuck his shirt in or comes to work with large holes in his pants?

As for the odor part, you have to be careful with this. Does he have a MEDICAL condition that could be doing this?  If an employee's body odor is caused by a medical condition and you don't deal with it correctly, there is the Americans with Disabilities Act to deal with. Does he have any religious or ethnic beliefs that limit his bathing? If so, then there is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to think about.

However, if the problem isn't either of those and the employee in question is just a slob who likes to come to work after 90 minutes of working out without a shower, you can confront this employee.....but exercise tact, diplomacy, and restraint. Personally, I would recommend spending a little time with the employee to see if the problem really is as bad as people say. If so, you MUST communicate that the body odor is affecting the work of those around him. Like the wise man once said, "it's not personal, it's strictly business".

Thank you this helps...it appears that he is just gennerally a slob but I will encourage his supervisor to check on the medical issue and the religious issues before we take further steps.  This employee has worked for our company for about 12 years...1st in maintenance...after so many years of maint...he was offered a step up to work with engineering with conditions that cleanliness was a must...grooming and bathing a must.  At first he went out and got a haircut and began bathing daily....after some months of being in his new position he is letting his grooming fall by the wayside. 

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Cheri Larson

"with conditions that cleanliness was a must...grooming and bathing a must."

 Warning! Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

What conditions? Is this laid out in a contract somewhere? Can you define "a must" when it comes to grooming and bathing? Does that mean just standing under running water 5 times a week? Or does it spell out what type of soap must be used, how long it must be on the skin before it is washed off, how the duration of the shower must be at least 30 minutes, but not to exceed 60 minutes? I know I'm exaggerating (slightly), but when I saw the word CONDITIONS in that last post, I saw a couple of red flags go off. Proceed with caution.

On another note, since he has worked with the company for 12 years, have their been previous complaints?

larscl:

Thank you this helps...it appears that he is just gennerally a slob but I will encourage his supervisor to check on the medical issue and the religious issues before we take further steps.  This employee has worked for our company for about 12 years...1st in maintenance...after so many years of maint...he was offered a step up to work with engineering with conditions that cleanliness was a must...grooming and bathing a must.  At first he went out and got a haircut and began bathing daily....after some months of being in his new position he is letting his grooming fall by the wayside. 

I don't have a problem with telling someone that a condition of their promotion is meeting the dress code and hygiene standards of their new role with the Company.  If your personal appearance and hygiene policy is written right, this should be a non-issue.

I do have a problem with letting the supervisor handle inquiries about medical and religious issues related to odor.  hr_gmc is correct in identifying the Civil Rights Act and ADA as sources of trouble for your company if this is handled incorrectly, and that begins with how the inquiry is handled, not just with what you do with the information obtained.  His supervisor's knowledge about things medical or religious should be on a very restricted need-to-know basis.  Would you ask the supervisor to talk to the employee to clarify his EEO form?  Handle the inquiry within HR.  "Mr. Smith, is there anything about you or your personal or work situation that I should know about that would affect your ability to comply with our personal appearance and hygiene standards in the Engineering department?"  Do you trust your supervisor to ask that question or will he or she say, "Jack, don't you people in your religion bathe?"  I am familliar with a case in which the cause of the body odor was the person's feet rotting off (literally: necrosis) and it was ADA covered.

TXHRGuy - you said exactly what I was thinking!  This is not an issue that I would let a supervisor handle.  As much as we talk and train our supervisors to handle situations tactfully, it doesn't always happen.  This could turn into a bad situation in a heartbeat. 

Maybe I missed this in the posts but I don't remember reading anything about what steps have been taken after the initial conversation when he was first promoted.  I think I would start out by having a discussion with him about your personal appearance and hygiene standards before I come out and ask him if there is anything you should know. Give him a chance to correct the behavior.  If he doesn't then ask the question as TXHRGuy said it.  Attorneys I have talked to have always advised to address the behavior that is against policy first before asking questions and see where things go.  Once you open the door about ADA it is very difficult to close it.  If there is no improvement then you can go that route. 

Thank you all for your help and I did missinform you...my boss the CEO of the company will be dealing with this . He is my supervisor and I will be giving him your advice.

Thank you again.

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Cheri Larson