far Really is that the new standard? Lexis 4540 (D.C. H. Hair shall be cut neatly and students shall be well groomed. This post may contain affilaite links. A. It also appears he may have misinterpreted a letter from OSHA on hair that interferes with the facepiece seal. With strict grooming policies in most departments, Firefighters generally tend to ditch the razor on their days off with many growing impressive-looking beards while on annual leave and holiday! Stage Three Firefighter Technical Skills Assessment: Section One 10 Metre Ladder Climb, Ropes, Knots and Tool Lift Firefighter: Hair regulations are gender discrimination. Can Firefighters Have Beards and Facial Hair? without seatbelts? CALOSHA adopted regulations that forbid employees with any facial hair from wearing the tight-fitting respirators firefighters are required to use at a fire scene. The areas of the skin, which contact the face or neck seal and nosecup seal, must be free of any hair. Potter v. Dist. In general, the majority of fire departments have grooming & safety policies which require its firefighters to be clean-shaven (with the exemption of moustaches). However these masks are tight-fitting and as such, excess facial hair can reduce the chances of achieving a secure face seal. Many Fire Departments allow personnel who are in non-operational roles (e.g. Malcolm Lindsay filed suit alleging religious discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Appellate court rejects a no-beard rule for firefighters who claim a religious exemption. Facial hair that lies along the sealing area of a respirator, such as beards, sideburns, or mustaches will interfere with respirators that rely on a tight facepiece fit to achieve maximum protection. If they pass, they can keep their facial hair as-is. These concerns shall govern all rules regulating member grooming standards. The section of the respirator standard that applies, 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A), requires employers to prohibit respirators with tight-fitting facepieces to be worn by employees who have facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face. Personally, if a shadow beard does not increase the risk to firefighters, then the Judge got it right and congratulations to him for ruling the way he did. Please confirm your subscription in the email we've just sent you. Moustaches are allowed, with limitations, which could include: Moustache must not make contact with the inner seal of the face mask, Moustache must not extend further than the corners of the mouth or no further than 1/4 downward from the corner of the mouth, Sideburns must not make contact with the inner seal of the face mask, N95 Masks are used in the United States & Canada and filter a minimum of 95% of airborne particles. I think (but could be wrong) NFPA only addresses facial hair and proper mask seal, not scalp hair. Take the time to read the case. Hair Coloring: Hair coloring must look natural. Curt Varone has over 40 years of fire service experience and 30 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. Barbae that permits facial hair in the chin, cheek and neck area provided it There was no reference to any scientific research into facepiece 1 Comment. continue to fly based upon anecdotal evidence that we havent had a problem so Hairstyles, bulk or length of hair shall not interfere with the proper wearing of the uniform headgear. What Judge Weinstein is saying (whether he realizes it or not), is that based upon a limited data set of a handful of FDNY firefighters over a two and a half year period, it is safe for firefighters to ignore the requirements / recommendations of OSHA, NIOSH and the NFPA relating to SCBA facepiece seals. NIOSH determined that most of the cancers which had increased risk for Firefighters were primarily respiratory, oral, digestive, and urinary cancers. firefighters an accommodation to maintain closely-cropped facial hair, uncut Firefighters generally cannot have beards because facial hair typically creates a barrier between the Firefighters skin and the inner seal of a face mask. The final determination as to whether an individual meets this criterion shall rest with the instructor(s) of the class. Phillips, Steven Seymour, and Terrel Joseph, filed suit in 2018 alleging race The issue of facial hair on firefighters has long been debated in the fire service and, specifically, fire training programs. words, the judges ruling to ignore a federal regulation was based upon the After a month, he shaved his beard to return to the firehouse and filed a lawsuit. Both male and female department members must conceal all hair within a protective hood and still maintain a proper fit of headgear and self-contained breathing apparatus face piece. determination that facial hair on the chin poses no risk to firefighters was based A plain reading of the letter is that hair on the chin or elsewhere on the face where it will protrude into the area of facepiece seal, is prohibited by OSHA. to ignore an FAA medical mandate (uncontrolled narcolepsy) and allow a pilot to The ruling quotes from a May 9, 2016 OSHA Interpretative Letter stating: According to Judge Weinstein, the above provision foils the citys entire defense. overriding concern of the AFD grooming standards is to project a professional appearance to the public. Fire personnel who because of illness are unable to shave facial hair, may not be assigned to a line position in Operations and cannot wear a Fire Department uniform. That would be the tail wagging the dog: doing research to support or disprove a court ruling instead of the other way around. Cir. Some fire departments, however, are more lenient and simply require its Firefighters to pass an annual face fitting test (rather than banning beards altogether). The majority of Fire Departments across the globe have grooming and safety policies pertaining to facial hair, which all vary. The firefighters, Salik Bey, Clyde Overtime, comp time, volunteer incentives, officer exemption, School Department Sues Fire Department for $90 Million - Fire Law Blog, Connecticut Court Renders Split Decision in Wrongful Death Ruling - Fire Law Blog, Fire Law VLOG: FLSA Update - Fire Law Blog. This can prevent Firefighters from attaining a secure face seal when wearing SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and consequently reduce the effectiveness of their respiratory protection. All members of the Austin Fire Department shall abide by the grooming standards outlined in The primary reason why Firefighters cant generally have beards is that facial hair creates a barrier between the skin and inner seal of their face masks. However, generally, the grooming requirements of most Fire Departments include: Some departments, however, are more lenient and simply require Firefighters to pass an annual or bi-annual respirator fitting test, which examines whether a secure face mask seal (without any leakage) can be achieved. A federal judge has ruled that FDNY must reinstate an accommodation granted to African American firefighters suffering from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae that permits facial hair in the chin, cheek and neck area provided it does not cause leakage around the masks seal. One of the most interesting cases about the right to grow facial hair when working in the fire department occurred between 2001 and 2007 in Washington, D.C. A group of Muslim firefighters sued for discrimination over the departments grooming policy in 2001. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience.