Tattoo Lady: Is A No-Tattoo Dress Code Policy Out Of Step With The Times?

The topic on the Kevyn Burger radio program was," Do employers have the right to prohibit tattoos?" Tattoo Face

If a study published in 2000 by the Minnesota Medicine Association is correct, that no-tattoo policy could soon affect nearly 50% of younger workers . According to the report,

"In 1990, a reported 3% of the U.S. population had tattoos.18 In our study, a surprising 35% of patients in the 16–35 age group had at least one tattoo, as did 19% of hospital staff in that same age group. In the 36–50 age group, 28% of patients and 11% of staff had tattoos. Our results indicate that in these younger age groups, tattooing is more prevalent than previously thought."

Is it time for companies to re-evaluate their own biases against tattoos and body piercings? The web site, the Modified Mind lists companies and their policies on tattoos and body piercings. The policies were surprising.

While the California based grocery chain Albertson's forbids facial piercings or tattoos,the more staid Bank of America is " Open to all mods that aren't extreme. "Extreme" is based on branch manager's preference, no official corporate policy."

Wal-Mart says no to tattoos but IBM is more lenient saying,"In all office environments: Employees are entitled to have piercings as long as it does not interfere with normal working day, or cause a safety concern. With regard to tattoos, if there is a risk that they could cause offense to anyone, they should be covered up."

Which brings me to Maureen. Currently working in a bead store, Maureen waited on me today as I was selecting beads to repair a watch band. Maureen has "facial ink." Under each eye she has a series of dots that go the entire side of her face.

As Maureen was adding up the cost of the beads I asked her about her tattoos. In particular, I wanted to know if the dots had a specific meaning,

"It means something to me. It's very personal," she said, adding,"you have to be committed to have ink on your face."

I then asked Maureen if this was a trend. Are we going to start seeing a lot of women wearing dots on their face? How are they going to cover those up for work?

Maureen doesn't think it's a trend saying the only people she knows with ink on their face are tattoo artists and performance artists.

Still,Maureen is not the first young woman I've seen with a tattooed face. The most remarkable was a young woman standing in line ahead of us on the day my daughter went to get her driver's permit.Like Maureen, this young woman had dots--actually they looked more like small n-dashes --on her face. Unlike Maureen, this woman had created an entire facial design. It looked like the outline of a permanent Mardi Gras mask that not only outlined her eyes but her nose and mouth.

At the time I wondered where she worked and who would hire her. Two months later I got my answer. My daughter Berit saw her working at the University of Minnesota Book Store.

So far, the courts have sided with companies who restrict tattoos and body piercing,saying as long as they are not discriminating based on race, sex, age or sexual preference, the company has the right to create policies on "dress code."

The question is how realistic are these dress codes? If tattooing has reached critical mass than shouldn't companies relook at these policies?

If someone would have told me that IBM has one of the more liberal tattoo policies, I would have laughed in their face. Perhaps other companies should follow IBM's lead.

Update: Checked the Modified Mind Website on 8/11/07 and tWal-Mart has modified its policy.

"Tattoos and facial piercings allowed for night stockers only. Large or offensive tattoos must be covered.
The Canadian branches have no standing on body piercings/tattoos."