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California’s correctional system is dealing with criticism over a coverage barring officers from sustaining full beards, a rule that civil rights activists say is discriminatory in opposition to members of the Sikh religion and Black officers.
In a letter despatched to the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Sikh Coalition claimed the brand new coverage would disproportionately have an effect on non-white officers and drive some guards to decide on between their faith and disciplinary sanctions.
“This coverage has created monumental concern and confusion for Sikh CDCR peace officers whose beforehand held non secular lodging are now not legitimate. It now seemingly forces them to both adjust to the shaving requirement beneath excessive duress or threat their employment,” Harsimran Kaur, the Sikh coalition’s senior counsel, stated in an announcement.
Vicky Waters, the assistant secretary of communications for the corrections division, stated the coverage in query was not particularly focusing on facial hair however reasonably targeted on the necessity for guards to put on N95 masks inside state prisons to adjust to the division’s continued makes an attempt to cut back publicity to COVID-19. Coronavirus outbreaks have been a persistent drawback in jail settings for the reason that peak of the pandemic.
“For nearly three years, we had COVID-19 to take care of, and masking in sure features of our operations is completely essential,” Waters stated in an e-mail. “This isn’t discriminatory, it’s merely primarily based on security and compliance.”
Within the letter, the ACLU claimed the coverage stemmed from a September 2022 corrections division memorandum that eliminated the phrase “full beard” from an inventory of accepted grooming choices. Religious members of the Sikh religion are anticipated to maintain their beards unshorn or keep away from trimming them to show their dedication to their faith.
The ACLU and the Sikh Coalition additionally claimed the coverage was discriminatory in opposition to Black officers, who’re extra doubtless than others to undergo from pseudofolliculitis barbae, a medical situation the place shaving may cause extreme irritation of the pores and skin.
Waters stated the division “continues to have interaction all workers who require non secular or medical affordable lodging within the interactive course of to incorporate consideration of all viable affordable lodging options.”
The coverage would seem to run counter to established case legislation.
Late final yr, a federal courtroom discovered the U.S. Marine Corps was flawed to disclaim three Sikh males entry into primary coaching as a result of they refused to shave.
The federal Spiritual Land Use and Institutionalized Individuals Act additionally protects the rights of prisoners to look at their chosen religion, together with entry to sure sorts of clothes or diets, until the necessity would compromise safety behind jail partitions, although it’s unclear if these protections prolong to officers.
A variety of the state’s largest legislation enforcement businesses — together with the Ventura and Los Angeles county sheriff’s departments — have been sued in recent times for stopping folks of their custody from accessing non secular headwear or acceptable diets.
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