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They are more popular and more acceptable than ever and they are changing the definition of what’s acceptable in workforce appearance and attire.

“They” are tattoos and body piercings. 

Now some employers are getting involved in expensive legal battles as they try to adapt to an ever-changing workforce.

KHOU-TV

Tattoos and body piercings are more common in the workplace.

At Shaw’s Tattoo Studio on Westheimer something that says ‘I love you’ to mom, or in the case of Linda Koos, who’s visiting from Iowa, to your daughter.

“My daughter lives in Houston.  I wanted to get a yellow rose in honor of her being here,” Koos said.

At Houston’s first licensed tattoo studio, the same artwork etched on the walls could just as easily be etched on the canvas that is your body. 

And these days no two canvasses are alike.

“I’ve tattooed doctors, lawyers, judges.  Just about everybody.  Got to get your motorcycle gangs in there too,” said tattoo artist Aaron Dale.

To put it another way, “Tattoos aren’t just for sailors and whores any more,” said Dale.

That said, corporate America may have embraced the concept of casual Friday but will it ever be ready for “Tattoo Tuesdays?

“Most companies are really strict and conservative in what they allow in the workplace,” said attorney David Barron. 

 “I have one right here on my forearm, one on my wrist.  I have a pretty big chest piece,” said sales clerk Cindy Bauer.

“With the younger workforce, a more diverse workforce, some employees are pushing the boundaries on that,” said Barron.

“One on the back of my neck, one on my ankle and one I’m not going to show you,” said Bauer.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, roughly half of all people between the ages of 18 and 29 have either a tattoo or body piercing, and that’s not excluding the work force.

That has major implications for the work place.   Suppose a worker shows up with confederate flag tattoo and others find it offensive?  What’s an employer to do?

 “If it’s something that’s sexually or racially offensive, then the employer generally has the obligation to deal with that in the work place and that might require an employee to cover up a tattoo,” Barron said.

Houston attorney David Barron advises companies around the country on the issue.  His advice to employers is to develop an unbiased written dress code.

“You need to be able to defend yourself if an employee challenges it though a lawsuit.  You need to be able to explain why it’s necessary for your image or to run your business for this particular policy to be in place,” Barron said.

Consider the case of a company suited by a food handler who belongs to the church of body modification because she wasn’t allowed to wear a facial piercing on the job.  The company won, but only after years of costly litigation.

“You now have a yellow rose of Texas to carry around with you wherever you go,” said Dale.

When it comes to discrimination in the modern work place, “I cook in a restaurant and I also have another job,” said Koos.

The writing could be on the skin, as the elite and the underworld meet in uncharted waters.