WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Victory for a group of firefighters and paramedics with the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department in the fight to retain facial hair. The decision came Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In describing the decision, attorney William Iverson told Legal Times reporter Mike Scarcella that the ruling for his clients hinged on a procedural matter. Iverson, with the firm Covington & Burling, said it isn't likely to set precedent under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In his concurring opinion, Senior Judge Stephen Williams wrote, "Unfortunately for the District, its own muddled litigation strategy rendered summary judgment for the plaintiffs a legitimate outcome."
Covington & Burling, along with the DC chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, took the case pro-bono.
The latest battle began in May of 2005 when the fire chief at the time, Adrian Thompson, ordered crews to be clean-shaven for annual mask testing. A group of fire and EMS workers claimed religious freedom and refused to shave their facial hair.
Prior to that, in 2001, a federal judge had granted a temporary injunction, saying a grooming order by Chief Ronnie Few violated the religious freedom of the department's employees.
DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Alan Etter is referring calls to the DC Office of the Attorney General which has not yet commented on the ruling.
For more on this and other stories, visit STATter 911 Blog.
Republished with permission from WUSA 9
