Tag Archives: facial hair

Court Upholds Cleveland Fire’s No Beard Policy

A Cleveland firefighter who claimed to have been the victim of race and disability discrimination due to Cleveland’s facial hair policy, has lost his lawsuit to be allowed to have a short beard. Anthony Davis filed suit in 2023, claiming the city’s policy prohibiting facial hair at the SCBA interface was aimed at “thinning the ranks of Black/African American firefighters.”

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Houston Firefighter-Dispatcher Challenges No-Beard Rule on Religious Grounds

A Houston firefighter assigned to the dispatch center as a Senior Communications Captain has filed suit claiming the city has failed to accommodate his sincerely held religious beliefs by requiring him to remain clean-shaven. Brandon E. O’Neal filed suit today in federal court naming the city, the Houston Fire Department and Fire Chief Samuel Pena as defendants.

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FDNY Prevails in Second Facial Hair Lawsuit

FDNY has prevailed once again in a lawsuit challenging its no-beard policy. In a ruling handed down yesterday, US District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis concluded the OSHA prohibition of facial hair at the SCBA interface serves to create an undue hardship that relieves fire departments of an obligation to grant religious accommodations.

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Court Upholds Termination of Medic Fired For Lying on Application

A decision to terminate a Georgia paramedic who sought a religious accommodation for facial hair, has been upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals because he falsified his employment application. The case was brought by Bataski Bailey, who was hired and fired by Metro Ambulance Services dba American Medical Response in 2015.

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