Beards, tattoos, earrings and other piercings almost serve as a generational uniform for male Millennials. Retailers faced with the reality of having to staff stores with low wage workers have loosened dress and personal appearance codes in recent years.
The most high profile example in recent years is Starbucks, which made the decision in 2014 to allow baristas to have visible tattoos while working, as long at they did not appear on faces or necks.
Now comes news that more than 14,100 have signed a petition on Coworker.org asking Publix to reconsider its dress code and allow employees to wear beards.
According to a Tallahassee Democrat report, Publix lets workers in its GreenWise Markets sport facial hair, but the practice is banned in the rest of the company's stores.