Workplace dress codes can feel like a relic from another time, especially when they’re overly strict or impractical.

Imagine being required to wear pantyhose or a tie at a job where no one even sees you. Would you quietly comply? Or would you challenge the policy, risking conflict but potentially creating change?

In this story, an employee takes on a rigid dress code head-on and ends up transforming the company’s policy for good. Here’s how it all unfolded.

Got my employer to loosen their dress code

I worked for the medical insurance company with a shield of blue as my first real job after college. They had a 1950s dress code, such as women having to wear pantyhose and skirts or dresses. Men had to wear slacks, not jeans. Men’s dress code also said dress in a shirt with a tie and a jacket, or sweater.

I wore bow ties just to be different, but I got a talking-to from my boss, who was, by the book, ex-military.

So the next day, I came in wearing slacks and a light sweater. I didn’t have to wait more than a half hour before I got called into the office, and the yelling started. I just stand there until he finally takes a breath, and I tell him I’d like to see the dress code. He gets mad and sends me to HR.

I had a long talk with HR, and I told them to read the dress code to me. They say they are going to write me up. I tell them they have that right, but I will contact the Department of Labor and report them. I point out the commas: dress shirt with tie and jacket, OR sweater.

Here’s where the real fight began.

They give me some crap about that not being what it means. They gave me a warning, so I returned to work and wrote a letter to the Department of Labor after calling them. I was also in the clerical union and gave them a call.

I continued to wear light sweaters every day, got sent to HR for a warning that turned into being written up, and then threatened to be fired. One note: I was not in a job that had any face-to-face dealings with the public, so only my co-workers saw how I was dressed.

The Union got involved with the state, and meetings were held. During this time, I was constantly getting the stink eye from my boss, who was not allowed to discipline me without a union rep present.

In the end, the old-school dress code was thrown out and replaced with “business casual.”

Wow! They were serious about that dress code.

Let’s see what the people over at Reddit have to say about this situation.

Sounds like an awesome boss.

Interesting point of view.

This was a smart switch.

Here’s someone whose family member worked for the same company and never mentioned the dress code.

Good for this person! It sounds like it was time for that dress code to get an update.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.