Jiffy Lube asked their employee, Bobby Brown, to shave his beard and cut his hair to comply with their new groomong code, a code that applied equally to all employees. Brown, a Rastafarian, refused on religious grounds and sued Jiffy Lube for descrimination. Now, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has overturned a lower court decision and is letting the case go forward.
At stake is whether a private company has a right to include as conditions of employment how their employees present themselves to the public. This is not about race as no company has the right, nor should they have a right, to discriminate against a person because of the circumstance of their birth.
Nor is this about religion per se as a person is free to believe as they choose. This is about the right of a company to determine the code of behavior of empolyees they are paying during working hours. Laws are enacted to balance the right to worship with the right of a private company to conduct their business in a manner they choose. The used to side with business in most cases and this is right.
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