Taliban Matt Hits the Burka Trail

Skirts below the knee?  Are you fucking kidding me?

Let's see if we can figure out the real goal here.

Shame female employees?  Check.

Shame low-paid employees who can't afford the new fascist "professional" look?  Check.

Vague guidelines that make it easy for Bevin appointees to fire non-repug, non-freakazoid, non-white, non-straight and non-male employees without just cause?  Check.

From the Courier:

No flip-flops. No bare midriffs. No camouflage. And watch the hemline on that skirt.

Gov. Matt Bevin's administration is rolling out a new dress code for state workers, but some departments' individual tweaks to the rules – including a ban on  "extremely low necklines" – are raising eyebrows at the state workers' association.

Employees recognize that employers have the right to set standards, said David Smith, executive director of the Kentucky Association of State Employees, but who's to say what the proper length for a dress is? "You're dealing with a fashion issue, and fashion changes," he said.

Personnel Cabinet Secretary Thomas Stephens said in a recent memo announcing the new guidelines that the executive branch's roughly 31,000 employees should maintain "a neat, professional appearance" because they represent the commonwealth.

SNIP

However, agencies are free to tweak their dress codes since different departments do different kinds of work, and people can request accommodations if they have a medical, religious or disability-related need. Violations could result in employees being asked to leave the premises or being subjected to disciplinary action, including possible dismissal.

Stephens also is instituting several additional rules that only apply to the Personnel Cabinet's 206 employees.

Personnel Cabinet employees can wear casual dresses and skirts only if they are knee-length or longer and cannot wear spaghetti-strap dresses unless they're covered by a sweater, according to an early-October memo from Stephens. Tops with "extremely low necklines" are prohibited, as are pajama pants, exercise pants, camouflage-patterned clothes and shorts. Men must keep their dress shirts tucked in, although polo shirts don't have to be.

Smith said the association has members who work in every state cabinet and every state agency, and some employees – the majority of whom have been women so far – have reached out with concerns about the new dress codes.

SNIP

And the Personnel Cabinet cannot oversee how each agency and manager enforces these rules, Smith said. Supervisors potentially could use a dress code violation as an excuse to discipline or fire someone they dislike.

"Is it too interpretive, and do we believe it could cross a line? Absolutely," Smith said.

If someone has religious or personal views about what is modest or appropriate and what isn't, those ideas shouldn't be forced on employees, he said.

He also said state workers may have to buy new clothes to meet their agency's dress code if, for example, their skirts fall above the knee. Employees will make an effort to meet whatever requirements their agencies institute, Smith said, but professional clothes can be expensive.

Especially for employees hired since Governor Fascist Dictator cut the state employee minimum wage from $10.10 to $7.25 about 10 seconds after he was inaugurated.