Feb. 1, 2023 Allowing them to skip the razors would put Jacksonville in violation of federal OSHA regulations.
Source Firehouse.com News
Jacksonville firefighters who sued the department to save their beards have lost.
A federal judge has ruled that the request to keep facial hair would require the city to violate OSHA regulations, according to The First Coast News.
The firefighters balked at the policy saying some had a skin condition that can involve scarring, irritated skin and ingrown hair. They sought permission to sport closely trimmed beards that wouldn’t interfere with donning SCBA masks.
“The federal regulations do not allow for individual consideration of facial hair. [I]t prohibits all facial hair. There is no mechanism for the city to deviate,” U.S. Senior District Judge Harvey Schlesinger wrote in the opinion.