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Unilateral Tattoo Policy found to be unlawful
There is an old saying: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and smells like a duck...then it’s a duck. On March 11, Arbitrator Zimmer- man did not buy the City’s argument that the unilateral change to prohibit the long standing Policy of wearing visible tattoos was a reason- able modification to existing Policy.
a concern over tattoos.
Next, the Arbitrator noted that a tattoo is essentially
forever. Removal of a tattoo would be an expensive and painful process. Unlike regulating the length of an offi- cer’s hair, fingernails or sideburns, or requiring officers to remove jewelry from piercings, an officer with a tattoo
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Instead, she determined that the De- partment’s sudden change to ban vis-
ible tattoos amounted to an arbitrary change in working conditions, thus violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement with Chicago Lodge 7.
has a tattoo, and there is nothing to be done to avoid fall- ing within the scope of the new policy.
The Department proffered many reasons why
it wasn’t a duck, but the arbitrator squarely reject-
ed each of them. First, the city argued that the impact of the rule on an officer’s working condition is minimal, only amounting to a minor modification to existing uni- form and appearance regulations. Not so, said the arbi- trator. Instead, she found the Department’s position to be a manifestly inaccurate characterization. Officers had been hired with tattoos for years and continued to ac- quire additional tattoos without any problems, and nei- ther the public nor management ever criticized or raised
allowed to wear open-collared, short-sleeved shirts in the summer, but under the new policy must now wear regular long-sleeved shirts and ties. She correct- ly pointed out that, anyone who has spent a summer in Chicago can take notice of the fact that wearing a long- sleeved shirt with a tie, rather than an open-necked short- sleeved shirt, would cause a huge comfort difference if one spent even a few minutes outside on a hot day, let alone the hours so spent by many officers. Not only are
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Additionally, the arbitrator opined that compli- ance with the new policy carries significant ad- verse consequences. For example, in the past, of- ficers with visible tattoos on their arms had been
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