By Bob Walsh
This crops up every now and again. It has cropped up
again. A number of "prison guards" (Correctional Officers) employed by
the CA Dept. of Corrections (and rehabilitation) are whining about a
departmental requirement that they be clean shaven. The group has filed
a complaint with the federal EEOC claiming they are being picked on.
The
department has replied (accurately) that various state laws and
regulations, including the Calif. Code of Regulations (which is
administrative law and not statute law) demands that certain staff,
including custody staff and fire fighters, be able to effectively wear
gas masks and respirators. You can not effectively wear a gas mask or
respirator over a beard.
Until
Sept 2022 persons who clamed religious or medical exemptions could wear
a short beard. That is no longer an option. The eight complainants
are Sikh and Muslims who had a legit religious claim, which isn't the
same thing as a legit religious exemption.
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