News Release
For Immediate Release: 10.30.24
Contact: Natalie Konstans, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Atlantic City First Responder Asks Third Circuit to Protect His Religious Freedom
Attorneys defend First Responder’s right to wear a beard as an expression of his faith after City’s unlawful rejection of religious accommodation request.
Atlantic City, NJ— Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit heard oral argument in the case of Alexander Smith, a longtime first responder who was refused a religious accommodation to wear a short beard. Smith is seeking to reverse a lower court decision that allowed the Atlantic City Fire Department to deny his religious accommodation. He is represented by First Liberty Institute and the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic.
“The Department has refused to make any accommodation for our client’s religious beliefs, even though federal law and the Constitution require it,” remarked Kayla Toney, Associate Counsel at First Liberty, who argued before the court on behalf of Smith. “No one should have to choose between their livelihood and practicing their faith, but that’s the choice that Atlantic City has forced upon Alex.”
Joshua McDaniel, Assistant Clinical Professor and Faculty Director at the Harvard Religious Freedom Clinic stated, “Alex has dedicated his life to serving his community for 20 years, and he wants to help his colleagues be as safe as possible. The Department should follow the law and respect his religious convictions.”
Alexander Smith, a devout African-American Christian and ordained minister, works as an Air Mask Technician for the Atlantic City Fire Department. Alex’s faith and conscience require him to wear a short beard, in accordance with Scripture and to set a godly example for his congregation. Alex’s administrative role within the fire department is to fit masks and refill air tanks for firefighters engaged in fire suppression. Because he is not required to fight fires or wear an air mask, Alex’s beard would have no impact on his own or others’ safety. But the Department refused to grant his request for a religious beard accommodation.
Under the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Groff v. DeJoy, another First Liberty case, employers must accommodate religious beliefs unless they can show a substantial increased cost to the business – and the Department hasn’t shown that any cost would result from accommodating Alex. Fighting for his religious freedom, Alex wants to ensure that all first responders, present and future, are free to live out their faith while serving and protecting their community.
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact Natalie Konstans at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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