California anti-Sikh policy mandating shaving for job halted

In a significant ruling, the United States District Court has issued a preliminary injunction against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding its enforcement of a policy that prohibits peace officers from wearing facial hair.

This policy has been deemed discriminatory towards practicing Sikh men, whose religion mandates that
they do not cut any of their hair, including facial hair.

The civil rights complaint was filed in March to halt California’s enforcement of the rule, saying that it amounts to religious discrimination for Sikhs, Muslims and others who wear beards as an expression of their faith.

Now the Court’s order temporarily prohibits California from enforcing its no-facial-hair policy on peace officers who request to wear beards due to their religious beliefs. The department must refrain from disciplinary actions, threats, demotions, forced use of accrued time off, involuntary reclassifications or transfers (with temporary exceptions), reduced work hours, termination, or retaliation against such officers. Additionally, CDCR must communicate to all
personnel that no disciplinary actions will be taken against officers requesting religious accommodations for facial hair.

The court has also ordered that the CDCR must engage in faith discussions with the affected peace officers to explore what accommodations can be made for their religious beliefs. This includes evaluating alternative respirators that allow for facial hair while providing protection from hazards, adjusting staffing, incident response, and respiratory protection policies to align with the need for religious accommodations, and offering transfers to positions within
CDCR that do not conflict with the officers’ religious practices.

The Court will maintain jurisdiction over the matter until either the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) completes its investigation and issues a final disposition of the discrimination charges or until the Court determines that CDCR has fulfilled its obligation to find reasonable accommodations or proven that such accommodations would cause undue hardship.

It has been noted by the Sikh community in the US that this is a threat that comes from across the political landscape, with Kamala Harris, the current vice president and Democratic presidential nominee having fought against similar attempts to allow Sikhs to wear beards. During her time as Attorney General of California in 2011, Harris argued to bar a Sikh from being hired as a California state corrections officer because she believed his beard would compromise his wearing a gas mask. Sikh activists have demanded that Harris apologise.