Feds seek to stop California prisons from violating guards’ religious beliefs

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday challenged the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for its denial of religious exceptions for correctional officers of various faiths, including Sikhs and Muslims, who wear facial hair as an expression of their faith.

CDCR generally bans prison guards from wearing beards, and the action seeks a temporary court order allowing those officers to wear beards while prison officials study ways to provide them with religious accommodations while still complying with state safety regulations.

“Our district is one of the most diverse in the country, with communities of many different faiths practicing customs that are central to their beliefs,” U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert, who leads the DOJ’s Eastern District of California in Sacramento, said in a press statement.

“The action brought today is an important use of the federal civil rights laws to protect this religious expression,”  he added. “My office will continue to work hand in hand with the (DOJ’s) Civil Rights Division to ensure that individuals of all faiths can receive due consideration for appropriate religious accommodations at workplaces in this District.”

The department’s action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District, alleges that although many officers had performed their jobs successfully for years while wearing facial hair, CDCR implemented a revised facial hair policy last year.

Since then, however, state prison officials have repeatedly denied religious accommodation requests, forcing officers to shave their beards or lose their jobs, according to Talbert.

The affected officers have been forced to violate core tenets of their faiths and have “suffered shame and humiliation among their religious communities, including being shunned from houses of worship and denied participation in religious ceremonies, such as family weddings,” he added in the prepared statement.

If the DOJ’s case is successfully adjudicated and upheld, it will affect prison employees at 36 adult instutions statewide, including two in Vacaville: California State Prison, Solano, and the California Medical Facility, the latter a prison for inmates who require medical treatment for chronic illnesses, mental health problems, or injuries requiring specialized care.

“Sikhs, Muslims and employees of other minority faiths should not be forced to choose between the practice of their faith and their jobs,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said of the legal filing. “Religious freedom and religious accommodation are bedrock principles of our democracy.

“We are taking action to ensure that the rights of employees of minority faiths are respected and accommodated in the workplace,” she added. “As faith communities celebrate Ramadan and other important holidays across religions in the coming weeks, the Justice Department will continue to combat religious discrimination in the workplace.” (Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset, ends April 9.)

Talbert said the DOJ’s complaint alleges that state prison officials have “failed to meaningfully consider the range of options proposed by the charging parties or those used by other correctional institutions to accommodate officers’ religious beliefs while meeting safety requirements.”

The department is asking the district court to order CDCR to stop enforcing its facial hair policy against officers who request to wear a beard because of their religious beliefs and engage in good faith discussions with officers about possible reasonable accommodations that would allow officers to safely do their jobs and adhere to their religious beliefs.