Just got discriminated

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So, I got turned down for a job at the mall theatre because of these:

http://postimg.org/image/ze5113y6h/

http://postimg.org/image/ue7kt5sjt/

I cried so much. My dad thinks I deserve it but I don't.

Unfortunately, this really is not discrimination in the same sense as racial or gender or sexual orientation based discrimination would be. For that matter, it is not the same as being discriminated against because you have stims or tics that are an immutable part of who you are. Companies have the right to decide how they want their employees to work and the vast majority will have a set of dress codes in place that you can find ahead of time. When looking for a job you could also in theory find someone there to ask what the dress code requirements are ahead of time before you actually apply for a job there. I think not hiring someone for earrings that small is indeed quite over the top, but the truth is it is not discrimination in the same sense that it would be if someone was not hired because of how they were born.

That sucks. They could have at least have you not wear those on the job if they hired you. I have worked at jobs and I read in their work policy that tattoos are to be covered and not be seen and my ex boyfriend had a job at McDonalds and facial hair had to be shaved or trimmed and he whined about that because it was part of his pride and saw it as changing who he is and his character. There was another job I knew of that required people to keep their hair cut short for safety issues.

It is not discrimination in the legal sense. Here is a list of Federal laws related to discrimination in hiring and employment. None of these laws prohibits 'discrimination' on the basis of jewelry, piercings, or tattoos.


Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws

I. What Are the Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;

the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;

the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;

Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government;

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these laws. EEOC also provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.

Yeah, discrimination doesn't cover piercings. Why couldn't you take out your piercings for work? If you refused to take them out, then that's not discrimination, unfortunately. I think it's ridiculous that you can't have pierced ears at a movie theatre, that wouldn't happen in Australia, but the employer does set a 'standard' you have to meet insofar as how you dress and look at the workplace.

I thought to read this thread as I thought you may have actually been discriminated against because you're autistic. That's another thing entirely.

As everyone else has said, this isn't discrimination in the legal sense. It's still discrimination though. I wouldn't have counted them against you as they probably wouldn't offend any customers. Your interviewer clearly thought differently.

Best of luck in your next interview.

Love the glasses!

Did he advise you to take your extra piercings out? If not, he should have, and he has no right to rub salt in that wound.

It'll be OK. It was one interview. Next time, unless you're interviewing for Hot Topic, or Spencer's, or a piercing place, or a tattoo place, take the extra piercings out.

He COULD have advised her to take them out, and he has as much right to be an ass as anyone else.

That said, the OP would do well to see how the people dress in the place she hopes to work in before she applies, and emulate that look, at the least

OK, I suppose I could re-phrase that.

Did he advise you to take your extra piercings out? If not, he should have, and rubbing salt in that wound without having warned you makes him a jerk.

It strikes me as being a bit nitpicky in this case. If she had chandeliers hanging from her ears, that would be another matter, but these are quite small and easily hidden. If this was her only wardrobe slip-up, I wouldn't fault her. I think in this case, the interviewer missed the big picture: cinema customers wouldn't be put off by that. Compare with a ticket agent that smells like cigarette smoke, or is wearing too much makeup; I would be more put off by either of these.

Nitpicky....but, alas, legal!

You should really study to be a court interpreter. I know a few on my job. They're usually of high intelligence and really could give a rat's butt if you're different from other people.

If I were the hiring manager, I would not hire you, simply because of the excessive piercings. When working in a openly public setting, like a cashier or hostess, image is EVERYTHING!! !! !! ! First impressions are what determine whether a customer decides to give your employer more of their business.

I'm NOT taking them out! I just got them and I can't let them close. They help my confidence a lot and I feel ugly without them. I'd rather wait for a job that lets me than to lose them! My parents said this is the last time they'll pay. Ugh, y'all are triggering me atm.

Why, because we disagree with you, or because we're right?

I'm sorry you feel that way, but you need to get your head screwed on straight and live in the REAL world of work. YOU don't call the shots in the business world, YOUR EMPLOYER DOES!! !! !! ! If you want to wear them on your own time, fine. But, when your on the clock, it's THEIR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY!! !! !!

While personally I don't think your earrings are wild and crazy enough to warrant someone not wanting you as an employee, particularly today when more than one ear piercing has arguably entered the mainstream and is no longer something you only see on people nobody would want to employ, at the same time it's the boss who calls the shots.

There are workplaces that would allow you to have these. However, you will have to seek out those positions, and as it's all a numbers game, that means you cut down some of your chances of finding a job.

I get that you can't take them out while they're new and healing. But when the time comes where you can leave them off for the hours of a job, you may have to consider not wearing them to work if you get a job that won't allow them.

I remember reading something about Whole Foods permitting five piercings but no more -- so there are places that employ people with piercings, you just have to look for them, but like I said, that narrows your choices.