If you have tattoos and you’re going to be entering into the modern workforce, it’s important to remember that there is now more acceptance for tattoos in today’s society. The number of people with tattoos today are certainly increasing. Roughly 3/10 Americans have at least one tattoo. Amongst the millennial generation 47{e5503dccd5c5807c2ef5e289c6a0ea2e9b55f1f34e532e1f6d758df53454bda4} now have tattoos. With nearly half of a generation sporting tattoos, there is really no reason that a tattoo might keep you from being employed today.
Employers are becoming much more accepting for discretion involving tattoos and these days we find everyone from doctors to lawyers and respected teachers all sporting ink.
There are still a few companies that do not like the idea of someone with tattoos representing their business. Some employers have gotten themselves in legal trouble for using tattoos as a decision for the hiring process. It has been argued that it is a form of discrimination.
Famous cases across the United States included a practice of a Kemeticism who wore tattoos on his wrist that needed to be visible for the religious significance. He was able to win his case for discrimination when he was refused a position at a company.
Even though employers can often use discretion when hiring or firing people because of tattoos, the reasoning can’t be because a person has a protected class or religious reason for the tattoo. Business decisions like hiring and firing based off of tattoos also need to be focused on a business reason as well. If there is no demonstration that somebody might be a bad candidate or there is no legitimate business reason for the firing, this can suggest that legal action could take place.
This post was written by J Michael Taylor. J Michael Taylor is an artist and owner of Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery. Black Amethyst is a Clearwater tattoo shop. They provide an art-first approach to custom tattooing in a gallery setting.