No Religious Freedom Exception To Photographs In Uniform

Thomas Swartz was a firefighter working for the Bourne Fire Department in Massachusetts. All members of the Department had an identification card as well as an accountability tag. Both featured a picture of the firefighter. The photographs on the identification cards and accountability tags were inconsistent – some firefighters wore t-shirts in their photographs while…

Firefighter Fired For Refusing Vaccination, Accommodation

Brett Horvath was employed as a driver/pump operator by the City of Leander Fire Department in Texas. Horvath is an ordained Baptist minister and objects to vaccinations as a tenet of his religion. In 2014, two years after he was hired, the Department adopted an infection control plan that directed fire department personnel to receive…

Not Religious Discrimination To Refuse Muslim CO’s Request To Wear Khimar

Linda Tisby began working as a corrections officer for the Camden County, New Jersey Correctional Facility in 2002. In 2015, Tisby reverted to the Sunni Muslim faith. On May 1, 2015, Tisby reported to work wearing, for the first time, a traditional Muslim khimar, a tight fitting head covering without a veil. Tisby’s supervisor informed…

Employer Reasonably Accommodated Beliefs Of Muslim Corrections Officer

Ashfaq Chaudhry is a Sunni Muslim and a correctional officer employed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), which has at all times been aware of Chaudhry’s religious beliefs. Sunni Muslims perform five prayers each day: before sunrise; between noon and 2:00 p.m.; an hour before sunset; right after sunset; and between 8:00…

NYPD’s No-Beards Policy Falls Because Of Inconsistent Administration

Fishel Litzman, a probationary officer with the New York Police Department, follows the rules and traditions of the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish community, and his Orthodox Jewish faith prohibits him from cutting or trimming his facial hair. His facial hair naturally grows out to be one inch from his skin. NYPD’s Patrol Guide Procedure 203-07 generally…

Applicant’s Views On Homosexuality, Not His Religion, Basis For Employment Decision

An applicant referred to anonymously in a court’s opinion as “Farhan Doe” sued the New York Police Department, alleging he had been turned down for employment because of his religious beliefs. In 2009, Doe applied for appointment as an NYPD cadet. A NYPD psychologist found that Doe was psychologically unsuitable for appointment due to a…

State Ruling On Sick Leave Confinement Policy Binds Federal Court

The Village of Hempstead, New York has a sick leave confinement policy that requires police officers using sick leave to be confined to their residence for the majority of time while on leave. Dawn Borum, a police officer with the Village, filed a state court lawsuit contending that the sick leave confinement policy unconstitutionally deprived…