business utah
Is it illegal to impersonate a store employee?
<p>For Halloween my coworkers and I are dressing in blue shirts and khakis and wearing fake name tags we made that look just like ones worn by employees at a certain popular store.</p>
<p>We are just wearing them in the office. However, it got me thinking. <strong>Would there be any legal implications if I were to wear this outfit to the actual store?</strong></p>
<p>I found <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/19010/legality-surrounding-impersonating-a-federal-employee">this question</a> but it specifically refers to impersonating a Federal employee, a whole different matter in my eyes, but perhaps not?</p>
<p>I realize there are different levels of havoc I could cause ranging from just walking in the store and not interacting with any employees or customers, all the way up to trying to disrupt the stores sales or operations using my outfit to get into places I shouldn't go. But I would like a general answer.</p>
<p>Jurisdiction: I live in Utah in the US, but I'm curious to see what the answer is for other places as well.</p>

<p>Simply being in the store in these fake nametags and outfits is probably not illegal. At least it does not violate any law that I know of. There might be some specific law in a particular jurisdiction, and the question does not say where this is assumed to occur.</p>
<p>If a person actively impersonates a store employee, say by &quot;selling&quot; an item to a would-be customer and keeping the money, that would be fraud, or perhaps &quot;theft by deception&quot;. If a person pretending to be a store employee gives a patron advice as if from an employee, say on whether a product has a specific feature, that is IMO unethical, but probably not illegal. If a person pretending to be an employee runs down the store and advises a patron to go elsewhere to shop, that might be &quot;interference with a commercial relationship&quot; which is a cause for a civil action in some places,  I understand. Certainly the management would object.</p>
<p>If the management notices such a fake employee, I think they would tell that person to leave the store. Failing to do so, or returning later, would then be trespass.</p>
<p>Copying the store logo might well be a technical infringement of copyright, but as long as there is no economic damage, a copyright suit is IMO quite unlikely. There would be no trademark case as long as the fake was not used to sell or advertise anything.</p>

<p>The issue involves different circumstances of law. Uniforms are considered a necessity item because they are clothing according to the Supreme Court, so it would be a violation of the 14th amendment for them to be mandated back upon loss of job because of undue burden. However selling and buying while legal is it something you have to be careful with.</p>
<p>The court defines any felony that is committed while wearing a uniform of another company as illegal impersonation which you can be prosecuted. Also as the above commer had said miss use of the uniform on company property will lead to you being arrested  for trespassing, and selling items while wearing the uniform on company property is fraud.</p>
