ICAP represented firefighters Salik Bey, Terrel Joseph, Steven Seymour, and Clyde Phillips in a challenge to the New York Fire Department’s (FDNY) “clean shave” policy. The plaintiffs suffered from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), a painful and chronic skin condition that disproportionately affects Black men. For those with PFB, shaving down to the skin causes severe irritation, boils, and permanent scarring; the medical standard of care is to maintain a short, closely cropped beard. For years, the FDNY provided a medical accommodation allowing these firefighters to maintain one-millimeter beards, provided they passed a “fit test” for their respirator masks. However, in 2018, the FDNY abruptly revoked the accommodation, claiming it violated OSHA safety regulations.
The litigation centered on the intersection of federal safety standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII. ICAP argued that because the firefighters successfully used the accommodation for years without safety incidents, the “clean shave” rule is a discriminatory barrier. While a federal district court initially ruled in favor of the firefighters, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in June 2021, holding that OSHA regulations categorically prohibit facial hair in the seal area of a respirator. ICAP subsequently filed a petition for rehearing en banc, emphasizing that the panel’s decision would force thousands of Black men to choose between their health and their careers. The case remains a landmark effort to ensure that safety regulations are not used as a pretext for excluding Black employees from essential public service roles.
