Hudson Valley Prison Workers Sue Over Religious Discrimination

Two prison guards from the Hudson Valley sued New York State after they were allegedly suspended for not shaving their beards.

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Brian Sughrim and David Feliciano say they were suspended from their jobs at Fishkill Correctional Facility after they refused to shave their beards, despite both having beards for over a decade.

The New York Daily News reports the state prison system vowed to fire the two Muslim correction officers.

Both were suspended earlier this month for not shaving, despite other coworkers being allowed to keep their facial hair, according to the New York Post.

Both were granted approval to wear beards, according to the Daily News. Sughrim due to a condition in 1995, Felician in 2013. However, their lawsuit claimed the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision recently rejected their request to keep their beards for medical and religious reasons.

Their lawsuit noted Gov. Cuomo signed a bill a week before they were suspended which banned discrimination over facial hair in New York.

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News of their suspension and lawsuit broke this week and both were then reinstated, according to a statement from the DOCCS.

“Given the recently signed legislation by Governor Cuomo, DOCCS has conducted a secondary review of the requested exemptions dealing with facial hair and has made the determination to grant the requests, reinstating both employees to their positions with full back pay,” DOCCS spokesman Thomas Mailey said. “DOCCS will also be reviewing its rules regarding facial hair immediately in light of the new law.”

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