7.8 Piercings And Employment
Description
This article is from the Piercing FAQ, by Anne Greenblatt with numerous contributions by others.
7.8 Piercings And Employment
Several readers of rec.arts.bodyart have been suspended or fired
because they have visible piercings. Unless there are specific state,
county or city laws prohibiting job discrimination based on
appearance, employers can establish and enforce employee dress
codes. Since many employers have encountered pierced employees before,
dress codes often specifically address ear and facial piercings.
Following is an example of a case in which the employer changed the
dress code after an employee acquired a piercing the employer found
unacceptable:
From: "Jozette Porter" <tedybear@swbell.net.stopspam> Subject: I'm
being fired for a pierce. Date: 16 Apr 1997 04:21:37 GMT
Just like the subject says. I got my tongue pierced 4 weeks ago, and
last week I was hit with a new policy. One earring per ear ONLY, no
other pierces. Well, I refused to take mine out, so I was suspended
today. They are going to fire me when the paperwork is complete. Do
I have any options?
Jozette decided not to persue the matter. "I'm not sure if they
targeted me or not. There were about six of us who had it
done. Supposedly the policy was being hammered out before I even got
mine."
If the dress code is established or changed after the employee is
hired with visible piercings or after the employee acquires visible
piercings, the employee may be able to argue that the employer is
targeting and descriminating against him/her. At present, no civil
suits of this nature have been filed.
In the food, medical and chemical industries, health department
regulations or industry standards may prohibit jewelry for safety
reasons.
References:
The Answer Man http://www.bermudasun.org/issues/j14/answer.html
Exec Style: Tattooing, Piercing Seldom in Company Dress Codes
http://www.bcbr.com/jan98/pierce2.htm
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