There may be relief on the way for employees who dread wearing high heels to work every day.
The MPP for Davenport, Cristina Martins, is introducing a new bill called Putting Your Best Foot Forward Act, 2017 which would prohibit employers from requiring an employee to wear high heel in the workplace.
“Workplace safety should always be the number one priority, safety at work should be as simple as buckling your seatbelt,” Martins said in a news release.
“This legislation will help to make work in Ontario more fair, and protect workers in Davenport and across the province.”
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) there are footwear protections in place for workers who are vulnerable to specific foot injuries or hazards, such as workers at industrial sites or construction projects. The bill, if passed, could now specifically include protection for all workers where high heels are required as part of a company’s dress code.
In recent years, employees have come forward to complain about their dress code. In 2016, a former employee of a Joey restaurant in Edmonton said she was required to wear high heels as part of the dress code during a training session, even after she complained about her shoes leaving her feet bleeding and in pain.
Last year the Ontario Human Rights Commission stated their position on the dress code policy, saying that requiring women to wear heels could be violating the human rights code. This issue mainly comes up in relation to dress codes at bars and restaurants, according to the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. This issue has also been debated in U.K. in relation to professional work environments.
The Canadian Federation of Podiatrists say women are four times as likely to have long-term problems related to their feet, often due to wearing high heels for long periods of time.
“Ontario podiatrists see far too many patients with injuries in the workplace that are entirely avoidable that are caused by wearing footwear that is inappropriate or outright unsafe,” said James Hill, president of the Ontario Podiatric Medical Association.
“Podiatrists treat foot pain and deformities in women twice as often as foot disabilities in men, often due to having to wear high heels in their workplaces. This bill will help to address these issues and keep more people healthy in Ontario."
Wearing high heeled shoes also cause much higher incidence of bunions, musculoskeletal pain and injury than those who do not wear high heels, added Hill.
