Employees cannot be required to pay for uniforms or for the cost of maintaining (i.e., cleaning) them if the cost causes employees to fall below the minimum wage or overtime compensation rate, and in some states, employees cannot be required to cover certain uniform expenses at all.
Employers should review and evaluate their existing uniform-related policies and procedures to reduce the risk of minimum wage-related and other state law claims. The following recommendations incorporate guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Labor to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act.