I’m sure there will be mixed comments on this, but it makes sense for several reasons:
- Safety
- Comfort
- Productivity
- Gender equity
As noted in a previous blog, US emergency rooms treated an average of more than 12,000 injuries each year between 2002 and 2012, and the trend is increasing. (1)
Health insurance costs being what they are, how does requiring employees to wear heels make any sense?
So, one Canadian province has taken action. (2) The government of British Columbia has stipulated that employers can no longer require high heels as part of a work dress code.
Very intelligent. No wonder people live longer in Canada.
This discussion calls to mind a classic issue that has arisen in relation to motor cycle helmets, seat belts, physical fitness, impaired driving, and vaccines — an individual’s actions affect others.
What do you do when one person’s choice can raise health insurance costs for everyone else? Each person who pursues a risky behavior adds a small increment to the costs borne by health insurers, and the little pieces add up. Of course, the health insurer response is to raise rates to cover these costs. Everyone who has insurance pays more.
US public policy in this area is at best erratic. Some rules support individual liberty; some what is best for the majority. Very inconsistent.
Sources:
- Mary Elizabeth Dallas, “Injuries from high heels on the rise,” Spectrum Health Healthbeat, 13 JUne, 2015. http://healthbeat.spectrumhealth.org/injuries-from-high-heels-on-the-rise/
- Jamie Feldman, “New Canadian Law Bans Mandatory High Heels At Work,” Huffington Post, 10 April 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/high-heels-at-work_us_58eba4b9e4b0c89f9120220c?arq&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lifestyle%20041017&utm_content=Lifestyle%20041017+Version+A+CID_8acfd2db7513e868287551b794356c32&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Read%20more&%20041017
