TATTOOS ARE OUT FOR NEW HIRES AT SIX FLAGS PARK : APPLICANTS FACE NEW DRESS CODE.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Six Flags California is looking for 2,000 people to staff its theme park during the peak spring and summer seasons. Applicants should be personable, hard-working and reliable - but not tattooed.

Visible tattoos are not allowed under the park's revised dress code, a new restriction that exempts current employees but applies to all new hires, said Palmer Moody, spokesman for Magic Mountain and the adjacent Hurricane Harbor.

Interviewing and hiring is under way now for the temporary jobs, which coincide with the busy season at Six Flags California. From March 24 to Oct. 31, the amusement park will be open seven days a week; the water park starts its everyday schedule May 17, Moody said.

During those peak months, Six Flags California's staff will swell from about 1,500 year-round workers to 3,500, Moody said. Park officials want the work force to look professional and well-groomed, he said.

Ruben Rosas hoped to land another seasonal job at Magic Mountain, where he worked for six months last year as a food service warehouse worker. However, the 47-year-old Palmdale man has a tattoo of a rose on his left hand, between his thumb and index finger.

Rosas said he was told during an interview this month that he wouldn't be rehired because of his tattoo.

``Last year, tattoos were permitted, but you were instructed to cover them up,'' Rosas said, noting some workers concealed them with elastic bandages or elbow braces. ``When I reapplied for work, they changed the guidelines,'' he said.

In last year's job, hauling canned and frozen food supplies on a dolly to the park's various restaurants, Rosas always wore gloves. Six Flags issued gloves to all such workers to lessen the wear and tear on their hands, he said.

The work was physical and, at $6 per hour, not very lucrative. The warehouse workers' contact with the general public was much less than that of ride operators and sales clerks in the souvenir shops, Rosas said.

The job Rosas sought this year was that of a tool room attendant, another behind-the-scenes position, he said.

Moody said the dress code is subject to continuous revision, to stay abreast of fashions favored by its work force - predominantly teen-agers and college-age young adults.

``Six Flags does have employee grooming guidelines, to maintain a professional atmosphere for our guests. The guidelines are constantly reviewed and revised to keep up with current style trends,'' Moody said.

``In the past, we allowed employees to have tattoos as long as they were covered. But what we were starting to see was larger tattoos on more visible parts of the body, like hands and forearms,'' Moody said.

``We felt we needed to revise the policy, because this look . . . with all these bandages on people . . . was not conducive to our professional atmosphere,'' Moody said.

Six Flags' dress code and grooming policy isn't any stricter than that of most businesses that serve the public, he said.

``Obviously, we recognize that many of our employees are young people following current fashion trends,'' Moody said. ``We realize that we have to maintain a certain flexibility when making these guidelines. Certainly tattoos are a huge trend right now among all people,'' he said.

Six Flags staffers can't wear nose rings or other visible types of body piercing that has also become the rage among the Generation X set. Earrings are allowed on women only, he noted.

``We want to stay ahead of any guest complaints,'' Moody said. ``We're not going to wait for guest complaints to change something.''

Rosas, a Vietnam veteran and grandfather of five, said his tattoo is a remnant of his youth in Pacoima, when he played in a garage band.

The red and yellow rose on his left hand, he said, was merely a cover-up of a previous tattoo - that of a question mark, a symbol somehow relevant in his younger days. Rosas changed it to a flower about 14 years ago. ``I just got tired of seeing the question mark there,'' he said.

During his stint in the Army, Rosas acquired tattoos on his shoulder and bicep, but those weren't visible in his Magic Mountain uniform.

Tattoos didn't matter in Rosas' previous jobs, including a long stint at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power installing water mains and fire hydrants, and as a baggage handler at Southwest Airlines, he said.

Other Southern California theme parks have dress codes similar to that at Six Flags, Moody said.

``We will hire people with tattoos, but once they are in uniform, the tattoos may not be visible,'' said one spokesman at Universal Studios Hollywood. ``You have to have it covered while you are in uniform.''

Prospective applicants may stop by Six Flags' human resources office on the north side of the park, at the side entrance off The Old Road, Moody said. Applications are accepted and interviews are conducted 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Beginning Feb. 22, the park will have Saturday recruitment, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Moody said. For employment information, call [phone].

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Photo: (Ran in SAC and AV--color) Ruben Rosas, 47, of Palmdale was told he won't be rehired this season because of his rose tattoo.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News