A job applicant with a prominent face tattoo has filed a $50,000 lawsuit in Multnomah County against a convenience-store chain that he says wouldn’t hire him because of his tattoo.

Christopher La Caze’s lawsuit claims that the denial amounts to religious discrimination because his tattoo — Celtic knots spanning across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose — represents his religion, animism. Animism is often defined as the belief that all things — including inanimate objects like plants, animals and rocks — have a spirit or soul.

La Caze and his tattoo are pictured on his LinkedIn page. The lawsuit uses the pronoun “his” to describe La Caze’s job denial and tattoo. La Caze’s LinkedIn page states La Caze’s pronouns as “We/Us.” Neither La Caze nor La Caze’s Portland lawyer, Marc Schworm, could be reached for comment for this story.

The suit, filed earlier this month, says that La Caze interviewed to be a cashier at a Jacksons Food Stores location, though the suit doesn’t specify which one. The suit states that a hiring manager offered La Caze the job but said La Caze would need to file for a religious exemption for his face tattoo, then later told La Caze that he couldn’t be hired because of the tattoo.

Shane Wright, a spokesperson for Jacksons Food Stores, said the company can’t discuss La Caze’s specific allegations because of the pending litigation.

“However, we are proud of the fact that our company is steadfast in its commitment to offering accommodations to anyone with religious beliefs,” Wright said in an email.

Wright said employees with face or head tattoos must cover them while on the job, and they may use makeup, a face mask or “another accessory.” If the size or location of the tattoos make it impossible to completely cover them, the company is willing to work with employees on the issue, Wright said.

Wright added that the company currently employs several people in Oregon and other states with face tattoos.

The Idaho-based chain has more than 300 stores across the western United States, including 33 in the Portland area.

In recent years, major employers – including Disney and UPS – have removed requirements from their employee manuals that all tattoos be covered. The changes come as employers grapple with worker shortages and acknowledge that tattoos have become a more widely accepted, mainstream part of society. Starbucks allows tattoos as long as they’re not on the “face or throat” and are not “obscene, profane, racist or sexual.” The Portland Police Bureau mostly prohibits tattoos or other “body art” on the face or neck that can’t easily be concealed. Tattoos on the hands and wrists must be approved by an assistant chief.

But how tattoo policies intersect with employees’ stated religious beliefs is rarely addressed. La Caze’s lawsuit says that after he was denied a job at Jacksons Food Stores, he asked the company if it had received his religious exemption. His suit says the employee he spoke to “would not talk about it” and ended the phone call.

La Caze is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional distress.

— Aimee Green covers breaking news and the justice system. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or @o_aimee.

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