See’s Candy Shops Face Class of Female Workers in Uniform Suit

See’s Candy Shops Inc. violated state labor law by requiring female employees to purchase and wear specific clothing without being reimbursed, according to a proposed class of non-exempt female employees in California.

Company policy requires female shop workers to purchase shoes and other specific clothing items that match the store’s 1940’s-era candy shop theme, and aren’t reimbursed for the purchases, the class told a superior court in Northern California May 15.

Clothing items purchased by employees are distinctive and a condition of employment, which makes them both a uniform and a necessary business expense, the complaint alleges.

See’s failure to ...