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D.C. Firefighters Sue Over Rule
Limiting Rights to Facial Hair
A group of Washington, D.C., firefighters is suing the city’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department over its clean-shaven policy.
They say the policy that limits rights to beards and mustaches discriminates against Black men based on religious beliefs or some medical conditions.
DCFEMS says the policy is intended for safety, not discrimination. Firefighters are required to wear tight-fitting sealed masks that allow them to breathe with the assistance of oxygen tanks in the presence of smoke or other airborne toxins.
Facial hair could prevent the tight fit needed for the masks to be effective, according to DCFEMS officials.
The 17 firefighters who are suing say facial hair represented a minimal risk that should not exclude them from their duties. They also say that each of them has passed the fitness tests required for their jobs.
The religious beliefs referred to either Orthodox Judaism or Islam, both of which encourage facial hair among men.
The medical condition mentioned in the lawsuit is pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB). It is most common in Black and Asian men with tight curly hair.
PFB can cause ingrown hairs that lead to skin inflammation and infections. Allowing men with PFB to grow beards alleviates the symptoms.
Firefighters have complained previously about the clean shaven policy. It led DCFEMS to revise its policy in 2021 to allow a thin covering of facial hair.
The firefighters in the new lawsuit say the policy still is too restrictive. Some of them who refused to abide by the policy were reassigned to administrative jobs that left little opportunity for promotion.
“It felt like DCFEMS was forcing me to choose between my career or my health,” said Durell Herman, a D.C. firefighter who has served for nearly two decades and suffers from PFB, in a statement. “This isn’t just a career for me, it’s my calling. Being sidelined, not for something I did wrong, but for a medical condition I can’t control, was devastating.”
Firefighter Khalid Bullock said he was reassigned after requesting a religious accommodation.
FBI Report on Sex Trafficker Prompts
Elon Musk to Accuse Trump of Cover-Up
The Justice Department is enduring the wrath of tech billionaire Elon Musk over a new FBI report on the 2019 jailhouse death of financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The FBI concluded that Epstein committed suicide in jail, despite conspiracy theorists who said he was murdered to keep him quiet about his list of high-profile clients.
The FBI also said there was no client list of men who had sex with young women hired by Epstein.
Musk said President Donald Trump was on the client list but was using his influence over the Justice Department to cover it up.
Musk initially led the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency effort to downsize the government and cut expenses. He resigned in April to return to managing his Tesla and SpaceX corporations.
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Latest News
Justice Dept. Whistleblower Program Offers
Big Rewards for Antitrust Information
The Justice Department last week announced a whistleblower program that would give potentially large rewards to anyone who reports antitrust crimes.
The crimes typically involve organized deception that hurts consumers, taxpayers and free market competition.
Whistleblowers who provide the Justice Department with original information leading to criminal fines or recoveries of at least $1 million would be eligible for rewards between 15 percent to 30 percent of the recovery amount.
The exact amount would be a matter of discretion for the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
The whistleblower program is initially targeted at antitrust crimes involving the U.S. Postal Service. It could be expanded to a broader array of antitrust violations later.
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
Join us! Donate & subscribe: https://www.washlaw.org/support-us
Volunteer with us: https://www.washlaw.org/get-involved/
For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at Gregg_Kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Supreme Court to Decide Liability
Of Transit Agencies After Accidents
The Supreme Court plans to determine whether New Jersey Transit is immune from liability as a state agency in a case with broad implications for transit agencies in the Washington, D.C. area.
New Jersey Transit was sued by two men who were hit and injured by commuter buses in separate accidents.
In one case of a collision between a bus and a car in Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania court ruled the agency benefits from the same sovereign immunity as any other state agency.
In a separate case of a man hit by a bus in Manhattan, a New York court disagreed. It said New Jersey Transit could be sued like any other common carrier.
The Supreme Court is being asked to resolve the differences of opinion.
A Supreme Court ruling against the transit agency would significantly increase liability risks and insurance costs for public transit nationwide. The most likely result could be higher fares for passengers.
In 2023, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) listed its total liability for litigation and claims at nearly $209 million.
Key issues before the Supreme Court are when transit agencies have “sovereign immunity” and when they are the “alter ego” of their local governments.
New Jersey Transit is a regional public transportation system based in Newark. Although it operates primarily in New Jersey, it also has rail and bus operations that extend to Philadelphia, Pa., and New York’s Penn Station as well as the surrounding areas.
Similarly, the Washington area is served by WMATA with extensions into Maryland and Virginia.
Trump Suggests Federal Takeover
Of Washington, D.C., Government
President Donald Trump suggested a federal takeover of the District of Columbia last week.
He said he appointed his chief of staff to meet with the city's mayor to discuss federal intervention.
Trump says local leaders are ineffective and that the city is home to too much crime.
Trump made the comments during a cabinet meeting. He did not explain what legal authority he could invoke to take over the operation of Washington.
"We could run D.C.,” Trump said. “We're looking at D.C. We don't want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well."
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Legal Briefs
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org