Tattoo Discrimination
Tattoo Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century
“Dis·crim·i·na·tion: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things. This is the Oxford dictionary definition of discrimination” To be ill-treated because you are different. Discrimination against those with tattoos is one of the forms of discrimination people, employers especially attempt to get away with. If an employer refuses to hire someone because of race, sex or religion it is instantly deemed as discrimination and further action will be taken. Yet employers can decide to not hire someone because of the way they choose to express themselves. Tattoos can be a beautiful means of expression and a bona fide form of art, and -albeit there may be inappropriate tattoos out there which understandably covered up on bosses’ requests- asking someone to cover up a tattoo is like asking them to cover who they are, what they’ve been through, and how that has changed them. Can this be justified?
Tattoos have been around for centuries, first created to differentiate tribes and has since had varied bouts of popularity throughout history. By far it is this generation which it is most popular with 38% of the nation’s young adults having at least one tattoo. With the increase of those getting tattoos you would think, natural progression and all, the next step would be to fit the dress policy set out by companies around the changing times. Apparently not. Tattoos and piercings as part of a company 's dress code are either for employees to be without or to be forced to cover them up. A case in the US where a man who was hired by the restaurant chain Red Robin even though he made it clear he would not cover his religious tattoos. So when they asked him to cover them after he was employed you can imagine the shock. This case was taken to court and the man was granted $150,000 in the lawsuit. However it doesn’t always work like this. A woman who worked for Costco refused to take off her facial
“Dis·crim·i·na·tion: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things. This is the Oxford dictionary definition of discrimination” To be ill-treated because you are different. Discrimination against those with tattoos is one of the forms of discrimination people, employers especially attempt to get away with. If an employer refuses to hire someone because of race, sex or religion it is instantly deemed as discrimination and further action will be taken. Yet employers can decide to not hire someone because of the way they choose to express themselves. Tattoos can be a beautiful means of expression and a bona fide form of art, and -albeit there may be inappropriate tattoos out there which understandably covered up on bosses’ requests- asking someone to cover up a tattoo is like asking them to cover who they are, what they’ve been through, and how that has changed them. Can this be justified?
Tattoos have been around for centuries, first created to differentiate tribes and has since had varied bouts of popularity throughout history. By far it is this generation which it is most popular with 38% of the nation’s young adults having at least one tattoo. With the increase of those getting tattoos you would think, natural progression and all, the next step would be to fit the dress policy set out by companies around the changing times. Apparently not. Tattoos and piercings as part of a company 's dress code are either for employees to be without or to be forced to cover them up. A case in the US where a man who was hired by the restaurant chain Red Robin even though he made it clear he would not cover his religious tattoos. So when they asked him to cover them after he was employed you can imagine the shock. This case was taken to court and the man was granted $150,000 in the lawsuit. However it doesn’t always work like this. A woman who worked for Costco refused to take off her facial
Bibliography: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2050491/Tattooed-Barbie-What-message-does-send-young-fans.html http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/sydney-hoteliers-move-to-ban-patrons-with-visible-tattoos/story-e6frfku0-1226274996372 http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/9-16-05.cfm http://stoloff-law.com/blog/tattoos-facial-piercings-and-employment-discrimination/