Tattoos and L.A. city employees

[Twisterdog]

I would rather be unemployed, than have to cover up my body art!!!

And that is certainly your right to do so.

However, it is also an employer's right to decide that excessive tatoos, piercings, etc. conflict with the image of their company, and not hire you.

I really can't see someone with dozens of visible tatoos finding employment as an accountant, banker, attorney, etc.

To each their own ... your right to get as many tatoos as you want, and an employers right not to hire you. Our rights and our freedoms must be extended to everyone equally.

[critter crazy]

I really can't see someone with dozens of visible tatoos finding employment as an accountant, banker, attorney, etc.

Sounds like discrimination to me. We all have a right tour own opinions, but we also have the right to be treated equally no matter what we look like!! Just because you have tats, does not mean you can not do a job well!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Sounds like discrimination to me. We all have a right tour own opinions, but we also have the right to be treated equally no matter what we look like!! Just because you have tats, does not mean you can not do a job well!

Sadly that isn't how people think.

Businesses have to caclulate public perception into their finances. If people are offended by seeing someone with excessive body art at an esbablishment, then they'll complain to others and soon you wont have any customers. Word of mouth can destroy a business quickly.

With public service agencies, they have to factor in how the public sees them because if the public doesn't trust them, it makes the job they are doing much harder.

Is it right to discriminate based on looks? No, I don't think so. However, humans will always be this way. We rely a lot on what our eyes tell us, and sadly it isn't always the whole story.

Do I like covering my tattos or being mindful of where they are placed when I get them? No, not really. However, I understand why my employer would require me to cover them up. Some people just tend to go a bit overboard.

[Medusa]

The very first time I visited L.A. to see my son, we were standing in line somewhere (can't recall where) and there was a mother and daughter behind us. The conversation went something like this:

Daughter: I don't want a tatoo!
Mother: Well, you're getting one.
Daughter: I think they're ugly.
Mother: You're still getting one. And where people can see it. I want you to get it on your ankle. (Ouch!)

And it went on this way the entire time we were in line. At first, I thought it was a gag of some sort and I whispered to my son "Is this for real, ya think?" He said "I was wondering the same thing." If anything, I thought the daughter would be arguing that she wanted a tat and her mother would be arguing against it. I didn't have the guts to butt in because it really wasn't any of our business but they talked about it loud enough for us to hear so maybe they wouldn't have minded but I just didn't want to start something. They both were clearly agitated.

[Cataholic]

Sounds like discrimination to me. We all have a right tour own opinions, but we also have the right to be treated equally no matter what we look like!! Just because you have tats, does not mean you can not do a job well!

Someone's claim of discrimination is very limited to those actions based on race, creed, colour, national origin, gender, famial status, etc. There is no claim of discrimination based on tatoo.

Your right to have a tatoo is on equal plain of an employer's right not to hire someone with a tatoo. Why should an employer be forced to hire someone anymore than you should be forced not to have/have a tatoo? Equal rights.

Let's say I want to talk trash/crudely to people that call the office. I want to say, as I pick up the phone, "What the hell do you want, lady"? Free speech, right? First Amendment issue, right? Of course not. My employer's right to govern my actions while at the work place is a legit concern, and my inability to follow protocol is reason to find my butt out of a job.

My argument that, "hey, this is just the way I talk"...is weak and ineffective. Sure, I have the "right" to talk like that, but it conflicts with my employer's right to have me speak in a professional and inoffensive tone.

What is inoffensive/professional to one, might be different to another. And, when it is the employer's business/financial wherewithall on the line, they are, most often, going to err on the side of conservative. Is it right? Well, it is to them.

Dress codes, grooming requirments, work requirements...all within the legal bounds of the employment arena.

I find it startling to consider that there are people every day that face true claims of discrimination on the basis of their skin colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religious convictions, etc., yet one would rather be unemployed than to cover up their tatoos.

[K9soul]

Something else to consider on the employment/dress code/tats covered issue. There are a lot of tats that make political or religious statements too, another no-no in a customer-service related business in which you are dealing with the public. An employer can tell me not to wear a shirt to work that says "Vote Obama!" etc., it is similar with requiring tattoos be covered. They cannot really take them on a case by case basis, there must be a general rule for all.

When I was a waitress I had to keep my hair a certain way and dress a certain way. It isn't discrimination, it's just that business's code. If I didn't want to dress that way or keep my hair that way, I was free to look for employment elsewhere that didn't require it. I think it is the same with businesses who have a "dress code" that includes body art displays.