A New York tattoo parlor where singer Rihanna reportedly tattooed three employees has been fined for employing an unlicensed worker, a city official says.

City Department of Health spokeswoman Celina De Leon said the citation and related fine against East Side Ink was not connected to Rihanna's July visit to the tattoo parlor, the New York Post reported Saturday.

"We got a call from a celebrity media outlet that Rihanna had been at the parlor and that she had been tattooing, but she was gone by the time the inspector got there," De Leon said. "But he did find a tattoo artist who was unlicensed operating there."

The "Umbrella" singer reportedly tattooed an "R" and an umbrella on three employees at the shop during her July visit. It is illegal under New York health codes for unqualified people to tattoo others.

An East Side Ink co-owner, identified only as Jen, told the Post the unlicensed worker discovered by city inspectors was a visiting tattoo artist who could create tattoos legally in his home state.

The fine for the citation against the tattoo parlor ranges between $200 and $2,000. An exact amount was not reported.