The handful of Newsweek employees who are being offered jobs by new owner IBT Media may be disheartened when they hear about the digital company’s 1950s-era dress code.
No mini skirts, denim jeans or bare midriffs are allowed — and when it comes to hair, only a “natural color” will do.
IBT, a digital firm that publishes the International Business Times, also has a strict policy on reimbursements that looks like it might have been hatched back in the go-go ’80s — setting low limits on how much can be spent on meals.
A lot of the “entertaining” may have to be done at Applebee’s or McDonald’s.
In New York, the reimbursement rate is set at $15 per individual meal and a whopping $85 when entertaining a guest — not exactly the Four Seasons day rate. In Phoenix, the personal reimbursement is $9, but it’s $50 if a guest tags along, according to the employee handbook.
According to the IBT employee handbook, obtained by Media Ink:
— Open toe sandals are not permitted.
— Body piercing (other than earrings) should not be visible.
— Inappropriately dressed employees will be asked to return home to change into suitable clothing.
— Tattoos must be covered.
Also on the banned list: “denim jeans, sweat shirts, low rise pants, sneakers, sandals, flip flops, halter tops, camisoles, baseball caps, sweat suits, T-shirts, tank tops, micro mini skirts, shorts or anything else that is deemed unprofessional or excessively distracting are inappropriate business attire and should not be worn to work.”
The new owners, who are set to take over from Barry Diller’s IAC on Oct. 1, also seem to frown on excessive perfume, cologne and other scented products.