Tattoos: Grounds for discrimination?

[Amelia]

Tattoos: Grounds for discrimination?

Fox Tampa

25 June, 2007

TAMPA - You could call it his body of art. Every line, every design on his body says something about Russell Parrish's life.

"My first tattoo was after my father died," he told FOX 13.

He was 15. Over the past 14 years, he amassed quite a collection.

His tattoos cover his right and left arms and hands. There is a spider in a web crawling up his neck.

"It goes back to Sir Walter Scott, 'Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.' It reminds me not to lie," he explained.

On his left arm, the faces of old-school horror movies: Boris Karloff, Lon Cheny, Bela Legosi. Those were his father's favorites. When the fingers of his right and left hands intertwine, it spells 'Hound Dawg.'

"That's my nickname," the 29-year-old said proudly.

On the inside of his elbow the scripture, 'If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out.'

"It means if you can't stand to look at me, don't," said Parrish.

But don't let him fool you, what people see when they look at Russell bothers him.

"We walk through stores and people grab their purses and wallets. You go for jobs and most times they won't give you an application. They tell you don't even bother, you have too many tattoos," he said.

That's his other struggle. With a wife and dreams of kids on the way, he wants a career. He's looked at theme parks in Kissimmee, home improvement stores down the street in his hometown of Lake Wales, even straight-laced coat and tie jobs. Everywhere he went, he said, "I got a door shut in my face."

Russell says in the last two months he's applied for over 100 jobs. In almost half of them, he says he was denied because of his tattoos. He says that's discrimination.

John Campbell is the managing partner at Constangy, Brooks, and Smith in Tampa. His firm handles labor and employment issues for companies all over the Bay Area.

Campbell said it's not discrimination.

"He has marked himself in such a fashion that he may have made himself undesirable because of his appearance. Appearance discrimination is not illegal - may not be fair - but it is not illegal," Campbell explained.

He said tattoos are not protected under Florida law, federal law even local law.

But Russell's trying to change that. He's organized a small grassroots advocacy effort called 'Tattoo' with friends Shaun and Tiffany Blayer, local tattoo shop owners, and others to get change.

"I want it to be where people like me, good people who deserve the job and are qualified - more qualified in some cases - can get the job," he said.

He's tried the EEOC and the Department of Labor with no luck. Now he's turning to local lawmakers

In the meantime, Russell refuses to make apologies for his choices.

"I don't regret any of 'em. I wouldn't go back and not get any. A person's gotta be themselves," he said.