Uniforms, Tools, and Dress Codes: What Your Employer Must Pay For

If the employer requires a distinctive uniform or specific tools, the employer buys and maintains them. Charging workers for required gear is a quiet wage theft in restaurants, security, and healthcare.

What California Law Says

The Wage Orders require employers to provide and maintain required uniforms — clothing of distinctive design or color — and to furnish tools and equipment, with a narrow exception for higher-paid workers in trades that customarily supply their own hand tools.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. List every required item you paid for: branded shirts, specific-color scrubs, safety gear, equipment.
2. Gather receipts or reconstruct the costs; include maintenance for items needing special care.
3. Add related expense reimbursement under section 2802.
4. Demand repayment in writing.
5. Include the amounts in a Labor Commissioner claim if refused.

Common Questions

A generic black shirt and slacks — is that a uniform?

A truly generic dress code usually is not, but once a logo, specific brand, or distinctive design is required, the employer pays.

They deducted a uniform deposit from my check. Legal?

Deposits collected through paycheck deductions are tightly restricted, and failing to return them promptly at separation creates additional penalties.