Eudora Cathay has been a unit clerk at the same community hospital for 2 years. The position of unit clerk is a demanding one that involves answering the phone, relaying messages, coordinating...

Eudora Cathay has been a unit clerk at the same community hospital for 2 years. The position of unit clerk is a demanding one that involves answering the phone, relaying messages, coordinating laboratory personnel in their rounds, responding to physicians’ requests, and making sure that patients are in the right places at the right times. Eudora’s striking appearance is enhanced by her African dress style. Some of the more conservative members of the staff, particularly physicians and administrators, have been disturbed by her style of dress. Others find it attractive and an interesting change from the wall-to-wall white uniforms everywhere in the hospital. The dress policy does not require unit clerks to wear a uniform and stipulates only that they be neat and well groomed (which she is) and dressed “appropriately” (which is controversial). Someone in an administrative position asked Eudora to dress more conservatively. She refused on the grounds that she was neat and well groomed and any further demands were an invasion of her privacy. She was fired for her refusal to comply, amidst rampant rumors of racism. Discuss her situation in light of good organizational policy. Should there be a dress code? Is there anything ethically relevant about how employees dress? Why or why not?