Wednesday, September 24, 2008



DC: Firefighter battles to keep his beard

We read:
"Steven Chasin, a Jewish paramedic in D.C., was forced to shave his beard when the department passed a mandatory shaving order. A veteran Jewish firefighter in Washington, D.C., is heading to court - with the backing of Muslim and Christian groups - to fight for his right to grow facial hair, an expression of what he says are his religious beliefs.

Steven Chasin, a paramedic with 18 years in the department, is fighting to keep his beard in defiance of an order passed two years ago that all fire department members be clean-shaven. Chasin, 40, is one of a group of fire department employees - the others are Muslims and Nazarene Christians - who are challenging the department's ban on facial hair, said Chasin's attorney, Art Spitzer."

Source

If pole dancing and flag burning are protected by the 1st Amendment, beards should be a slam dunk.

And there's no doubt that beards are part of Jewry, Hasidic Jewry, anyway. Amazing hats too!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

For fire fighters its more about safty and how some breathing equipment seals to your face.

Anonymous said...

That sounds plausible. However, he has already been a firefighter for 18 years. Obviously they figured out some way to deal with that problem.

BTW, for Jews, the beard indicates that they're married, much like our marriage rings.

Anonymous said...

Most respiratory equipment requires a clean shaven face. He's been doing it for 18 years, but that doesn't mean he's been doing it safely.
If he's unwilling to shave, then perhaps they can put in a different position that doesn't require the use of the equipment.

I'm basing this opinion soley on the assumption that safety is the reason for the rule change.

Anonymous said...

Quite, if beards, clothing or any other aspects of appearance can be demonstated to have no negative impact on job performance then let them prove it or show it, otherwise employers have a right to demand certain uniform appearance. If religiously-related appearance is so important, then the ppl concerned must find a more favorable employer.

Anonymous said...

I know for a fact the state of PA limits facial hair to a mustache extending no further than the lip for firefighters. This is to ensure that the facepiece of the SCBA makes a good seal. In his case, however, as an EMT, facial hair shouldn't be an issue. EMTs and medics shouldn't be in a position to need the SCBA.

Anonymous said...

Anyone tries making me shave my Jewish beard is ending up in court.

Anonymous said...

Please read the cited article and other articles on this issue.

1) There is a job requirement that the man be able to wear a mask. EMT's do go into hazardous areas to retrieve people or give medical assistance.

2) OSHA and other state Supreme Courts have held that the regulation for no beards or close shaven is a safety issue for firefighters and EMTs. The safety requirements for the job outweigh his objections to keep the beard.

3) This is being looked at because OSHA handles safety in states. Technically, DC is not a state and the EMT is arguing that as it is not a state, their regulations are not applicable in DC.

Anonymous said...

I'm a jew and the law is the law. if you cannot met the "requirements set forth by an employer, then maybe that job is not right for you.

Sorry,

jewwy jew boy

Anonymous said...

I agree with jewwy jew boy. Many employers have very specific rules and regulations that must be followed, not because of religious discrimination, but for safety.

Just because this guy he has been breaking the rules for 18 years doesn't mean he shouldn't start following them now.

Anonymous said...

I can see the problem if an employer has a dress code strictly designed to discriminate against a race or religion. But, I do not see a problem with an employer, any employer, passing non-discriminatory dress codes (including personal appearance) for any reason including but not limited to safety and uniformity (or even for atmosphere).
Can you imagine if Hooters had to hire just anyone and let them wear whatever they want?
How about getting a lap dance at the local club and finding out the dancers junk is bigger than yours?
There are times when you have to discriminate!
I always thought it a dumb business move for McDonalds to hire obese people.
If it is a safety issue, which is likely the case here, and someone gets hurt because the mask did not properly fit over a beard. Who gets sued for not informing the guy with the beard he shouldn’t have the beard (even though he has known for 20+ years the beard got in the way)?
And with the no beard policy, which will likely get set aside for a select few, who will get sued when one of these people gets hurt or killed because the mask didn’t fit properly?
If they made the policy for only firefighters and not EMTs (which here in Michigan is part of the Fire department) how many firefighters would file suit over discriminatory policies not uniformly applied?
So where do you draw the line between discrimination and good business sense? Does every single thing need to be freakin litigated?

Anonymous said...

This rule is standardized in many police and fire departments throughout the country. It's the same in the US military. It meets the test for religious discrimination because it is part of a necessary job function.

Anonymous said...

Even jews have to follow the rules. Sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Okay folks this is a bunch of BS. When I was a fireman three of us on our team had beards and the SCBA DID NOT LEAK PERIOD. This was even using the positive pressure regulators to insure if a leak is sensed at the mask air will be injected to prevent any entrance of the surrounding atmosphere. Now our beards were of medium length and that may have made a difference. What you have here is two things going on: 1. It is a way for the management to prevent the growth of beards of employees for appearance reasons and 2. (the worst one) it is junk science. That is it SEEMS to be a problem therefore it is. I'll bet you can think of a lot of science out there right now based on appearance only.
Did you notice nobody ever mentioned or cited that the persons involved ever experienced leaks or increased air usage due to the postive pressure being activated. And how was or even where is the testing that showed that having beards does cause leaks. The only problem I ever saw in my many years of using the SCBA was one of my fellow firefighters beard was so long it would fold up in front of face in the mask blocking his vision. However, it never leaked. It may sound plausible but plausible isn't the way we should measure things.