Can an employee be disciplined for breaking a rule that is clearly not usually enforced?
<p>I started a new job working in a retail store. The employee handbook has several official rules and policy which are clearly not enforced. For example</p>
<ol>
<li>no dogs in the store</li>
<li>no cellphones at work</li>
<li>always maintain two meters of distance with coworker</li>
<li>we are supposed to ID customers for their age but I noticed coworkers never do this</li>
</ol>
<p>Can all of a sudden management start enforcing or disciplining (including terminating) people for infringements?</p>

<h2>Yes, but ...</h2>
<p>An employee must follow the lawful and reasonable requests of the employer and failure to do so is grounds for disciplinary action.</p>
<p>All of your examples are lawful and, on the face of it, reasonable. However, if the culture and practice is such that they are normally not followed, suddenly requiring strict adherence without prior notice might be unreasonable.</p>
<p>Also, an employer cannot use the rules to persecute particular employees or groups of employees. If the rule is not applied uniformly, then that begins to look like discrimination.</p>

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