City to employees: Wear underwear

BROOKSVILLE, Fla., June 15 (UPI) -- The City Council of Brooksville, Fla., has approved a citywide dress code requiring city employees to wear underwear, deodorant and properly-fitted clothes.

The dress and appearance policy, which also requires all tattoos and scars to be covered up during work hours, was approved 4-1, with only Mayor Joe Bernardini voting against the dress code due to concerns about interpretation and enforcement of the new rules, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Monday.

"They said you had to wear undergarments," Bernardini said, "but who's going to be the judge of that? Sometimes when it comes to certain people going bra-less, it's obvious. But who's staring to see if that person doesn't have underwear on?"

However, officials said the dress code is part of an overhaul of the city's policy toward its employees that was developed with help from city officials, attorneys and other sources. The officials said they want public employees to maintain the city's "public image."

"The policy is there if something becomes an issue or problem," City Manager Jennene Norman-Vacha said. "Then we want to be able to address it. It's just good policy."