Philadelphia, USA - A Muslim firefighter cannot wear a beard on the job because of the safety risk it poses, a judge ruled Thursday in upholding the fire department's ban on facial hair.
Curtis De Veaux sued the city on grounds that the ban infringed on his Muslim faith, which generally requires men to grow beards. But the state judge said safety was a compelling interest that warrants an exception under the state's religious freedom act.
The city argued that beards interfere with the tight seal firefighters need on their respiratory masks, which deliver oxygen and keep out toxins.
De Veaux vowed to appeal, saying he would not cut his beard even to save his job.
"As great a job as it is, I still answer to Allah before I answer to the fire department," he said Thursday.
De Veaux, 25, sought to be tested with the mask to try to prove the seal over his short beard met safety standards.
He argued that the testing was the "least restrictive" way the city of Philadelphia could meet the state's Religious Freedom Protection Act, but Common Pleas Judge James Murray Lynn disagreed.
"Directive 13 (the facial-hair ban) ... is the least restrictive means of furthering its compelling interest in maximizing safety for its members," Lynn wrote in his order.
Anne Barden, an assistant city solicitor, praised the ruling.
"I think in view of the safety concerns, it's a very important decision for the city," Barden said Thursday.
No other major U.S. city allows firefighters to wear beards, Barden argued during the non-jury trial this week.
Last month in a similar case, a federal judge ordered officials in Washington, D.C., to test three Muslim firefighters with their masks. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents De Veaux, also represents those plaintiffs.
Abdul Majeed Potter, a plaintiff in the Washington case, said he and another plaintiff passed the tests this week. The third man's test were inconclusive, a plaintiffs' lawyer said.