And opens up a can of worms.

How much can you do - and not do - about your employees' personal appearance and grooming? Take this quiz and find out! As usual, I'll have the answers at the end, so if you get one wrong, no one but you will know.

QUESTION 1: If I operate in a jurisdiction that doesn't have a law against appearance discrimination, I can make any rules about appearance and grooming that I want. 

TRUE

FALSE

QUESTION 2: My employees are required by OSHA to wear masks on the job. The masks are no good unless there is a proper seal around the employee's mouth and nose. Since facial hair prevents a good seal from forming, we have a no-beard policy. I have one employee who is Sikh and wears a beard for religious reasons. What should I do?

A. Let him keep his beard and pray that the mask will work without the proper seal.

B. Tell him he has to shave the beard off or lose his job.

C. Meet with him and explain that the mask is required by OSHA and the safety rationale for the rule. Talk with him about reasonable accommodations, which might include use of a different type of mask that works with a beard, or transfer to another position that doesn't require use of a mask. After you've talked and perhaps consulted with vendors or safety experts, make a determination of what to do that won't violate the law or endanger his safety while accommodating his beliefs as much as you can.

It has been a busy week. Muslim headscarves, tech exec's tweets get him fired, and Lady Gaga is going to trial!

UPDATE ON LADY GAGA (10/22/13): She has settled her case.

Abercrombie gets fitched, and HR doesn't always get it right. I have previously reported on the litigation against Abercrombie & Fitch and its "looks policy" which at one time did not allow head coverings, even if worn for ...

We're already into the seventh day of Chanaukkah, and Christmas is only eight short shopping days away ("I've gotta get that football helmet!"), so it must be time for a post on how employers should handle the holidays in the workplace.

Suzanne Lucas of The Evil HR Lady has a depressing-but-funny post about the lamest employee Christmas gifts ever.

And, only slightly off-topic, you may ...

Employers, is your appearance code so important that you would pay more than $150,000 to ban a $10 accessory in the workplace? 

This is the story of the $150,000 lanyard.

If you are ignorant like me, you are thinking, "What the heck is a lanyard? Isn't that a part of a ship?" (Actually, I am sure that no one but me is that ignorant.)

A lanyard, I am ashamed to admit I have only recently learned, is ...

I know you're all poring over the Affordable Care Act, now that we have to comply with it, and trying to decide whether Chief Justice John Roberts is an evil turncoat, or a hero, or a "double agent" for the ACA's opponents . . . or for its advocates. (That's the trouble with those darned double agents.)

The heck with all that. Consider this a study break. Here are five ADA reasonable ...