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A postal worker says her long nails were a part of her image. But office rules say they must be a quarter inch long.
By JOUNICE L. NEALY
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 24, 2000
ST. PETERSBURG -- Almost everywhere Lolita Dash went, her fingernails were sure to attract attention.
Her thumbnail was almost 5 inches. The others were nearly as long, and brightly polished and decorated.
Onlookers quizzed her about all sorts of tasks.
"People are like, "How do you do this, and how do you do that?' " she said.
Dash, 36, says that she could do everything with her long nails.
"I've had them so long, I'm used to it," Dash would tell the curious.
Professionally, Dash says she has had no problems performing. Hired as a U.S. Postal Service carrier in 1986, she delivered mail for four years before becoming a customer-service supervisor.
But the nails are a problem for her current boss. St. Petersburg Postmaster Martha Worrell issued a rule in 1995 that no employee can work safely with nails longer than about a quarter inch beyond the finger. In addition to nationwide postal regulations, local postmasters have the authority to impose their own local safety rules.
Reluctantly, Dash cut her nails the next year.
"I was in tears the whole time I was there. It felt like cutting off a part of my finger," said Dash, who has worn her nails long for more than 15 years and went to great lengths to decorate them.
It would take as long as two hours to paint them in bright colors and add designs.
Since 1996, Dash has kept her nails about an inch long. Although she still was not in compliance with the rule, Dash says the measurement was just an approximation.
This year, supervisors realized Dash was violating the rule and told her to cut her nails.
Supervisors initiated disciplinary proceedings against Dash in March. Days later, saying she was stressed by the demand to cut her nails, Dash took a medical leave. She has not returned to work.
"Why should the focus be on nails and not mail?" said Dash. "I've been working with them safely without any injuries."
But local postal officials say the safety rule, which applies only to St. Petersburg employees, is a precaution.
"It's more of a case of preventative safety," said Gary Sawtelle, a spokesman for the local Postal Service.
Long hair, for example, must be pulled back so it doesn't get caught in any machines.
"I think in a situation with long nails, not only would it be a safety issue, most of people in management positions and even in our craft positions have to work the keyboard and do a lot of things."
Some industries have begun to regulate nail length for a variety of reasons, including safety and hygiene. In Oklahoma, several hospitals limited nail length after investigators found a link between bacteria under long fingernails and the deaths of 16 babies.
Aesthetically, long nails can be problematic, according to some image experts, who recommend a quarter inch as an appropriate length. Clearwater-based consultant Sidney Bayne says that long, thick nails are unprofessional.
"If you have nails that are any longer (than a quarter inch), it can be distracting," said Bayne, who owns Smarter Image. "Plus, customers love consistency."
Soon after she went on leave, Dash unhappily had her nails clipped to a quarter inch.
But Dash still says the rule is unfair, particularly because she has no problem doing her job. Dash supervises carriers, which involves lifting trays of mail, counting mail and working on a computer.
"I've been working with them safely without any injuries," Dash said. "Culturally, to me, it enhances my personal appearance. People were just intrigued by them."
Postal officials confirmed there have not been any reported injuries caused by long fingernails.
Dash says the talk about nail-length restrictions began after she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 1995 against a supervisor who Dash says called her nails ridiculous. The new rule was distributed to managers and supervisors the next month.
Although the EEOC found no evidence of discrimination against Dash, she says that she is being singled out and that officials had not enforced the rule until she filed unrelated EEOC complaints.
Dash filed another fingernail-related complaint with the EEOC in March. That case is pending.
Postal officials are also holding other employees to the standard. Six other female employees had their nails measured this month; one was in violation of the rule, records show. She agreed to cut them.
To Dash, the rule infringes on employees' personal choices.
"It's more than fingernails," Dash said. "It's the principle."