Fired for questioning a dress code? Sure, the company can do it, but I'd love to know who these aholes are.
Dress codes are silly except for a very few professions. They make NO SENSE for non-client facing jobs.
I worked for IBM for 20 years and nobody was happier to get out of those monkey suits.
@sinkspur Hey ya, Sink:
I started out as an EDS guy, after active duty service, so I know what you mean.
As a consultant, I've always tried to fit into the client organization, which has meant going "office casual" for most of the last 10 or 15 years. While that may suit the company, in fact, I'm always mining new work, and every contact I meet is a potential lead or client. That includes managers (many who become "former employees" and move to other companies), other consultants, employees, and whoever might walk into the client's workspace. I routinely "overdress" for that reason. I am the product, and a product wrapped in burlap and moldy cardboard won't sell. (Plus, that burlap is itchy and the cardboard stinks; don't ask me how I know.
)
All that said, those interns came to learn, and learn they did. If they ever get another internship, which with this failure on their resume is doubtful,
they'll be focusing on their work and not social action. I do feel a bit sorry for the interns who might have signed on under peer pressure, and found themselves out on their tail. The petition instigator should have identified and then fired, but that might have brought on a lawsuit. It was probably less risky for HR to simply to fire the lot of them.