Tattoos in the Workplace
Growing up, tattoos have always been looked down on in my family because the only people that had them were people who were affiliated with gangs or have been in jail. I personally never thought they were associated with any bad and then when I finally got older, the perception of tattooing had changed. Tattoos weren’t just for gang members, bikers, or sailors anymore. People started using tattoo as body art and the outcome was fascinating. The prejudice view for tattooing was no more and now more than 14% (and growing) of the population in America alone has at least one tattoo on their body. Majority of tattoo wearers receive their tattoo between he ages of eighteen to twenty and it has become an era for body art. This fashion of the youth is steadily increasing but that raises the question of how a tattoo could affect your chances of getting a job. Since the culture of tattooing has begun to change, the acceptance in society is increasing but some large corporations still find visible tattoos as a problem for their employees. In some cases, you could argue that the employer is trying to safeguard their public face. But the myth of believing that ink on your skin will make you less suitable for a job is ridiculous. Someone can meet all the qualifications and skills for a specific job and be let go because of the visible art on their bodies.
America is a very diverse society and there are many cultures that use body art or tattooing for entrance into adulthood and even rite of passage. Religions of all cultures and beliefs are practiced in our country, so we should not have to be punished for something we believe in. An incident that happened in 2004 according to Bizjournals indicated Edward Rangel for wrongful termination due to his religious tattoos from Red Robins Gourmet Burgers. Rangel was a religious man who followed his rite of passage by receiving a thin tattoo bracelet around his wrists. In his religion, it is considered a sin to cover his religious inscriptions. It is something he should be proud of within his culture but the unexpected happened.
He was hired as a server at Red Robins Gourmet Burgers in Bellevue, WA with his employers fully aware of the religious tattoo he had on his wrists. Eight months later, when new management took over, he was illegally let go of this job for having visible tattoos. His tattoos had never caused complaints or raise concern from customers, co-workers or supervisors for the time he was working there but it wasn’t until the new management was hired that they felt the need to take this action. The new manager felt it was an issue to guest experience and workplace balance and fired him immediately. Rangel then tried to explain his religious views and his rite of passage and even tried to find an alternative to the situation but he was told that it “would be better he seek employment elsewhere,” if he could not cover up his tattoos. Red Robins Gourmet Burgers was then sued for wrongful termination and eventually settled to the case paying $150,000 to Rangel.
America is a very diverse society and there are many cultures that use body art or tattooing for entrance into adulthood and even rite of passage. Religions of all cultures and beliefs are practiced in our country, so we should not have to be punished for something we believe in. An incident that happened in 2004 according to Bizjournals indicated Edward Rangel for wrongful termination due to his religious tattoos from Red Robins Gourmet Burgers. Rangel was a religious man who followed his rite of passage by receiving a thin tattoo bracelet around his wrists. In his religion, it is considered a sin to cover his religious inscriptions. It is something he should be proud of within his culture but the unexpected happened.
He was hired as a server at Red Robins Gourmet Burgers in Bellevue, WA with his employers fully aware of the religious tattoo he had on his wrists. Eight months later, when new management took over, he was illegally let go of this job for having visible tattoos. His tattoos had never caused complaints or raise concern from customers, co-workers or supervisors for the time he was working there but it wasn’t until the new management was hired that they felt the need to take this action. The new manager felt it was an issue to guest experience and workplace balance and fired him immediately. Rangel then tried to explain his religious views and his rite of passage and even tried to find an alternative to the situation but he was told that it “would be better he seek employment elsewhere,” if he could not cover up his tattoos. Red Robins Gourmet Burgers was then sued for wrongful termination and eventually settled to the case paying $150,000 to Rangel.
"I never imagined I’d be fired for my religious practices," said Rangel. "Red Robin forced me to choose between my religion and my job. But I am happy we could resolve the case and ensure that no one will have to go through what I went through."
More recently, an article released from Forbes by Rachel Hennessey talks about the changes of tattoos in the workplace. The more surprising areas of employers being tolerant of their employees having ink on their skins are mostly within the corporate, education, and medical industries. Bank of America’s spokeswomen, Ferris Morrison stated that they no longer have restrictions to their corporate employees having visible tattoos. “We have no formal policy about tattoos because we value our differences and recognize that diversity and inclusion are good for our business and make our company stronger,” she said. The job market is getting tighter and more companies are loosening their views on tattoos. Regardless of the ink on their skin, a qualified candidate that possesses the skills for the job should not judged based on the outlook of their appearance.
In the medical field, the claims of having visible tattoos do not affect their chances of a job but the tattoo policies during working hours are heavily supervised and controlled. Mayo Clinic states that keeping the body art and tattoos concealed with patient’s increases the trust. Employees within this field are asked to cover up while with patients to keep the professionalism at high importance. It is better to keep the professional image within these boundaries when dealing with medicine.
Bruce Potts is a professor at the University of New Mexico. His face is covered with a tribal tattoo and he expresses that he has not been affected in any way when it comes to job searching. “I haven’t had trouble getting a job because success is all about how one presents him or herself, and doesn’t solely depend on appearance,” he explained.
A study done on Career builder surveyed employers from all industries and it showed that a total of 31% of employers ranked an employee having a visible tattoo as a factor that would contribute to deter the opinion of promoting one to a higher position. With every industry, they are slowly making their way to the acceptance of body art and ink but since it is still profoundly new to society it has a long way to go before the view altogether is changed.
In the medical field, the claims of having visible tattoos do not affect their chances of a job but the tattoo policies during working hours are heavily supervised and controlled. Mayo Clinic states that keeping the body art and tattoos concealed with patient’s increases the trust. Employees within this field are asked to cover up while with patients to keep the professionalism at high importance. It is better to keep the professional image within these boundaries when dealing with medicine.
Bruce Potts is a professor at the University of New Mexico. His face is covered with a tribal tattoo and he expresses that he has not been affected in any way when it comes to job searching. “I haven’t had trouble getting a job because success is all about how one presents him or herself, and doesn’t solely depend on appearance,” he explained.
A study done on Career builder surveyed employers from all industries and it showed that a total of 31% of employers ranked an employee having a visible tattoo as a factor that would contribute to deter the opinion of promoting one to a higher position. With every industry, they are slowly making their way to the acceptance of body art and ink but since it is still profoundly new to society it has a long way to go before the view altogether is changed.