Court says women can be forced to wear bras

German bosses can order female employees to wear bras in the workplace after a landmark legal ruling published Wednesday.

An airport security firm took the 'bra wars' case to court in the western city of Cologne arguing it was essential "to preserve the orderly appearance of employer-provided uniforms," the local reported.

The court agreed bosses had the right to require female to staff to either wear undershirts or white or skin-colored bras. Their demands do not violate workers' personal rights, the North Rhine-Westphalia state labor court ruled.

Officials also agreed the firm was entitled to demand staff keep their hair "clean, never worn looking unwashed or oily” and that men could only sport a well-groomed beard or be clean-shaven.

Fingernails were another source of contention, with the German court endorsing the view they should be kept shorter than half a centimeter to protect passengers from injury.

However, the company, which was not named, was knocked back in its efforts to dictate which colors employees could paint their nails.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.