(They) were forced to eschew a highly-admired and self-fulfilling aspect of their work as firefighters.” “A blow to those who visualize themselves as public servants. “Placement on light duty… was inarguably adverse to (these firefighters),” Weinstein wrote. In his decision, Judge Weinstein noted that the FDNY gave affected firefighters “an objectionable ‘take it or leave it’ proposition: shave down to the skin with a razor and risk permanent injury or be reassigned to light duty. Their job and the safety of the public were more paramount to their own legal rights.” “Some would suffer gashes, but they accepted disfigurement and the irritations that come with their conditions so they could be reinstated. “They were forced to cut their own faces,” their attorney said. “There was no empathy toward the situation at all,” he said.Īboushi, who is also a candidate in the upcoming race for Manhattan District Attorney, said her clients agreed to shave in order to return to full duty. I ended up telling them, ‘If you ask me to shave again I’m going to have to go on a medical leave because my skin is going to be irritated and start bleeding.’ “I was relieved of duty just five days ago because I was asked to shave four times in one day because of my condition,” Joseph explained. “I’m glad we could level the playing field.”įirefighter Joseph said he and his co-plaintiffs were unable to do overtime because of the shaving requirements and routinely had to take medical leave. “The FDNY has had a lot of struggles with discrimination,” Aboushi said. They’ve always put the public first, but were marginalized and discriminated against over something not of their choice. “My clients dedicated their lives to running into burning buildings to save people they never met. Wednesday’s decision reinstates medical clearances for all firefighters struggling with pseudofolliculitis barbae, explained Aboushi.
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