News Release
For Immediate Release: 1.13.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
First Responder Reaches $400,000 Settlement Securing Right to Wear Beard on Duty as Expression of Faith
A victory for religious freedom in the workplace for all first responders.
Atlantic City, NJ— Today, First Liberty Institute, the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic, and Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP announced that Alexander Smith reached a favorable settlement with the City of Atlantic City securing his right to wear a beard on duty as an expression of his faith.
You can read the Consent Decree here.
“This victory for Alex reflects the important precedent he set for all first responders at the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit,” said Kayla Toney, Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “We are very pleased with the favorable terms of the agreement, which secures our client’s religious liberty and financial future.”
Joshua McDaniel, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director of the School’s Religious Freedom Clinic, stated, “Americans of all faiths should be free to live out their convictions without fear in the workplace, and this precedent significantly strengthens their ability to do so.”
“This settlement stands as a firm reminder that our Constitution protects the right of every citizen to live and work according to their conscience,” said Luna Droubi, partner at Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. “No one should be forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood.”
According to the Consent Decree, the City must update the Fire Department’s Operational Guidelines to follow Supreme Court precedent in Groff v. DeJoy, making religious accommodation to its grooming policy available. In analyzing accommodation requests, the City will have to “grant the accommodation unless it would pose a substantial increased cost to its operations.”
In addition to this significant policy change, the City will pay $400,000 to Alex and his attorneys and pay for him to receive his full salary and benefits while on authorized absence until his retirement. To protect religious freedom in the future, the City will implement a religious diversity training component for Atlantic City Fire Department leadership, which will include the EEOC Guidelines on Religious Discrimination, and will administer this training annually.
A devout African-American Christian and ordained minister, Alex 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 not impact his own or others’ safety. But the Department unconstitutionally refused to grant his request for a religious beard accommodation. Alex appealed to the Third Circuit after a lower court refused to recognize his constitutional right to an accommodation, and the Third Circuit ruled decisively in favor of religious freedom in the workplace.
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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 John Manning at media@firstliberty.org.
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