Bosses in Germany came out on top Wednesday in a court ruling that said they can insist female workers wear bras.

The State Labor Court in North Rhine-Westphalia ruled on a case between an airport security agency and its employees, the British newspaper The Daily Mail reported. 


Moreover, supervisors have the right to check the length of their female employees’ fingernails and insist that hair be kept tidy while at work.

Men can grow beards, but bosses are entitled to require that they are kept neat and clean. The court’s decision will apply to all businesses in Germany’s most populous state.

The employees had said the employer’s rules were too strict, but the court disagreed.

“Being told to wear a bra and keep fingernails to shorter than half-a-centimeter does not impinge on personal rights,” the Daily Mail quoted the court as saying, adding, “It is not a disproportionate impairment of personal rights.”

However, there was a partial victory for employees. The court also ruled that firms cannot ban wigs or specific hair colors or shades of nail varnish.

Ryu Jeong-hyun (mutalisk3000@nate.com)