Tattoos and Law Enforcement
Will Your Body Art Keep You Out Of A Career?
While tattoos are rapidly growing in popularity, their acceptance in the workplace is still limited. This issue has been frequently arising in law enforcement agencies.
Although tattooing has been around for hundreds of years, it is only in recent years that body art has experienced such mainstream popularity. Tattoos have become particularly popular with younger people. A Harris Interactive survey found that nearly 49% of 18-to-29-year-olds have a tattoo. Based on the rapid spread of tattoo parlors and the increasing addiction young people are developing to getting tattooed, it appears that this trend is not going to slow any time soon.
But just because it is popular does not mean it is accepted everywhere, particularly when dealing with the workplace. This issue has recently become particularly prominent with law enforcement agencies. For example, an article on body art in the Buffalo News reports the story of Craig Arnold, a college graduate with a dream of being a police officer. Arnold discovered that he is prohibited from obtaining a job in law enforcement with the New York State Police because of his tattoos. A departmental rule implemented in 2006 prevents hiring anyone who has a tattoo that is visible when an open-necked short-sleeved shirt is worn.
A similar but less restrictive rule has been implemented by the Sacremento County Sheriffs Department requiring that officers with tattoos must cover them up when they are on duty. This rule came as a result of a complaint from a woman who thought a parolee was disguised as a police officer because of the officer’s tattoos.
And in Florida, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is in the process of defining what tattoos, if any, will be permitted on their officers.
Restrictions on tattoos are not limited to law enforcement agencies. Similar debates over tattoos rage in other workplace environments. Many individuals have attempted to litigate their “right” to display their tattoos at work, but they have met with little success. Dress codes and regulations on a person’s appearance in the workplace are not facially discriminatory, and there is no constitutional right to display a tattoo at work. Constitutional claims could arise if the tattoo ban is enforced in a discriminatory manner, such as based on religion or gender, but otherwise the employer has a right to regulate workplace appearance. Further, some tattoos are sufficiently offensive that an employer might face liability for not requiring a tattoo to be covered, due to the hostile work environment that could be created by those employees who feel threatened or uncomfortable due to the other worker’s tattoo.
Regardless of how one feels about the fairness of regulating tattoos in the workplace, anyone planning a career needs to carefully consider how permanently marking their skin will affect their professional future. The decision affects people working in law enforcement, the business community, the service industry, and in many other occupations in society. What may seem like a harmless personal decision today may be the act that keeps you from the career you desire for your life.
