Massachusetts' high court ruled Tuesday that a Rastafarian man is entitled to a trial on possible religious discrimination for refusing to cut his hair or beard to comply with Jiffy Lube's policy on grooming.
The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled for Bobby T. Brown, a Rastafarian and former lube technician at a Jiffy Lube in Hadley, Mass., owned by F. L. Roberts & Co. Inc. of Springfield.
Brown, who has a full beard and dreadlocks, said that his religion forbids him from shaving his beard or cutting his hair. Rastafarianism is a religious movement among Jamaicans that teaches the eventual redemption of blacks and their return to Africa. It employs the ritualistic use of marijuana and forbids the cutting of hair.
The company started a new policy in January 2002 that required employees to be clean shaven and to have neatly trimmed hair if they work with customers. Brown was permanently assigned to work in a lower bay of the oil change business.
Claire L. Thompson, the attorney for F. L. Roberts & Co., said she is disappointed in the high court's decision. The policy affected everyone who had facial hair, she said.
"The policy had absolutely nothing to do with religion," Thompson said.
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