Black firefighters who sued Jacksonville for grooming standards that could help them manage a common skin problem have lost their case, a federal judge has ruled.
The firefighters went to court in 2020 arguing the fire department was wrongly burdening Black firefighters by requiring them to be cleanshaven even if they had a condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, which can involve ingrown hairs, irritated skin and scarring.
“At issue is whether the city discriminated against plaintiffs when it required firefighters with PFB, which primarily affects African American men, to be cleanshaven,” U.S. Senior District Judge Harvey Schlesinger wrote this month in an order that ends the case.
Read the rest of this story at the Florida Times-Union, a WJCT News partner.