Public Employee Press

Traffic agents bust police beard ban

Traffic Enforcement Agent 3 Mohammed Moslehuddin follows the tenets of his Sunni Muslim faith: He prays regularly and wears a beard, in the Islamic tradition.

So when the New York Police Dept. ordered him to shave off his beard to comply with its grooming guidelines or face demotion, he called his union.

The NYPD also sent other TEA 3s and TEA 4s in Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983 home from work without pay or forced them to use annual leave for not complying with the 2006 personal appearance standards of its Parking Enforcement District.

In 2007, the DC 37 Legal Dept. and Local 983 filed improper practice charges with the Office of Collective Bargaining to protect the rights of Moslehuddin and dozens of other TEAs who wear beards and goatees because of skin conditions or religious convictions.

The conflict ended earlier this year when the union and the NYPD agreed on a stipulated settlement. Grievance Rep Clarice Wilson worked on the case with DC 37 lawyer Idina Gorman and former lawyer Leonard Polletta.

Although he submitted a letter from his imam (Muslim spiritual leader) to the Police Dept., explaining the religious reason for the beard, the department demanded that Moslehuddin — who wore his neat half-inch beard even at his promotion ceremony — shave it down to one-eighth of a millimeter (1/200th of an inch, shorter than the periods in this article).

“The NYPD has a constitutional obligation to accommodate Mr. Moslehuddin’s religious beliefs but has denied an accommodation for no apparent reason,” wrote Polletta. In fact, he said, the agency seemed to want “to frustrate rather than accommodate Mr. Moslehuddin’s religious beliefs.”

“The department should recognize that it hires a diverse group of people and acknowledge their customs, religious beliefs and medical needs,” Wilson said.

Local 983 TEAs must still comply with the grooming standards, but the agreement carves out exceptions for members who need accommodations for religious requirements or provide medical documentation from a dermatologist every four months. The agreement also required the NYPD to restore the leave time it had taken from the Local 983 members.

“Although the beard policy has changed over the years,” Wilson said, “this stipulation is the first to acknowledge skin conditions along with religious exceptions.”

“Our officers and stewards pressed the issue at a labor-management meeting, and Clarice Wilson was especially diligent in guiding the process to a successful outcome for the membership,” said Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal.