What does this have to do with rights?

[Rookie120 0]

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating complaints from more than a dozen black employees at a Six Flags theme park who were told their hairstyles were inappropriate.

Jonathan DeLeon, 17, was hired at Six Flags America in Largo, Md., in March to wear the costumes of Sylvester and Daffy Duck. A few weeks later, he said he was told to cut his braids, which were at least 3 feet long.

Though his mother cut more than 2 feet of his hair, park officials were dissatisfied, he said.

"They told me I had to cut them even shorter or go home," DeLeon told The Washington Post. "They said they wanted an all-American thing. That's what they said to all the black people. I had already cut it a lot, so I just left."




The 2006 Six Flags America handbook states that employees are not allowed to have "any hairstyle that detracts or takes away from Six Flags theming."

Terry Prather, the park's general manager, said that the policy is not discriminatory and that exceptions are made for employees with religious and medical reasons for not cutting their hair.

Some employees said they tried to adjust by buying wigs to cover their hair or by paying to have their hair braided into cornrows, but they too were told that the hairstyles were inappropriate.

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People work in places where they have dress codes. I cannot have long hair where I work at. Should I call the ACLU. What a damn joke. We had a guy about 1 year ago who was told when he got hired he would have to cut his hair which was at about his mid back. He showed up with his long hair and was told he still needed to get it cut. He refused and he was dismissed on the spot. If six flags has a hair code in there employee manual how does the ACLU have a leg to stand on here?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[freethefly 6]

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He showed up with his long hair and was told he still needed to get it cut. He refused and he was dismissed on the spot.

Does the same policy apply to women with long hair. If not. Why? What is the difference?
He should had filed a discrimination suit.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[shropshire 0]

Did his hair grow 3feet since he joined the company? If not then they employed him when he looked like that and have a cheek changing their minds later.

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(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Gawain 0]

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He showed up with his long hair and was told he still needed to get it cut. He refused and he was dismissed on the spot.

Does the same policy apply to women with long hair. If not. Why? What is the difference?
He should had filed a discrimination suit.

Wow...are you serious? Can't be. Just fishing right?

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Andy9o8 2]

It depends on whether hairstyles typical of white males were tolerated more than hairstyles typical of black males. (Example: a black man has clean, short hair, but the employer doesn't let him wear it in "cornrow" style - a style almost never worn by white men.) If as a practical matter they were, then there can be an argument that the grooming policy was applied in an unequal fashion that tended to penalize black males.

I say, let's let cooler heads (no pun intended) prevail and take a wait-and-see attitude and see what evidence comes out before we pre-judge the situation.

[kallend 2,146]

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He showed up with his long hair and was told he still needed to get it cut. He refused and he was dismissed on the spot.

Does the same policy apply to women with long hair. If not. Why? What is the difference?
He should had filed a discrimination suit.

Wow...are you serious? Can't be. Just fishing right?

If he or she is inside a Daffy Duck costume, why should it matter which gender has long hair. I agree, why is it OK for a woman but not for a man?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jpjc2000 0]

Simple...they own the company...they make the rules, not much complicated about that...LOL! ( Gaud forbid that a company giving someone a paycheck can tell them how to dress...what has the world come to?)

[freethefly 6]

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Wow...are you serious? Can't be. Just fishing right?

No, I am not fishing. It is a serious question. I worked for a good number of years as a UX/EMI rail inspector and my hair was to the middle of my back for a good while. It did not affect my ability to perform my job and the company nor any of the railroads I inspected have a problem with it. Why would they? If they were to have fired me for my hair, I would had quickly gone to an attorney and had filed a discrimination suit.
Maybe buzzcuts were the norm in the 1950's but this is not the 1950's. Companies cannot simply fire someone based on their appearance. People have rights. If long hair is not allowed on men then the same should apply to women. If long hair is allowed for women then the same should apply to men.
As for Six Flags do you think that any of the patrons to the park really care how someone wears their hair?

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Andy9o8 2]

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Simple...they own the company...they make the rules, not much complicated about that...LOL! ( Gaud forbid that a company giving someone a paycheck can tell them how to dress...what has the world come to?)

You're partially correct and partially incorrect. I've handled quite a few discrimination cases (on both the employee's and the employer's sides), so I'm pretty familiar with how this works.

Yes, a private employer does have the right to set certain grooming & dress code standards, within reason. Your boss wants you to wear a tie and you don't like it - tough; wear it or you're gone. But if either the standard itself or its practical application has the effect of subjecting a person to ethnic discrimination, that can make it unlawful.

Examples (re: most private employers):
- Saying that men may not have beards is probably OK, but not making an exception for someone whose religious beliefs require a beard (e.g., Muslims or Orthodox Jews) may be unlawful.
- Saying that men must have short hair is probably OK, but not making an exception for Sikhs, whose religion requires long hair, may be unlawful.
- Within a "clean, short hair on men" rule, prohibiting a neat "cornrow" style - given that probably 99% of men who wear cornrows in the US are black - is probably unlawful discrimination.

[Rookie120 0]

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Does the same policy apply to women with long hair. If not. Why? What is the difference?
He should had filed a discrimination suit.

Yes they do. It doesnt have to be butched but no longer than the shoulder. He was informed at the time of hire that he would have to cut it but then refused. How could he file a suit and have a leg to stand on?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[freethefly 6]

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It doesnt have to be butched but no longer than the shoulder.

I can agree with shoulder length for men, as long as it also applies to women. I see it as an equal rights issue. What applies to one gender should also apply to the other. An issue concerning hair is just silly. If long hair poses a safety concern (caught in moving machinery, fire hazard, food preperation...) there are measures that can correct these hazards. Before and after working in the NDT industry, I was a welder. I kept my hair under my skullcap. Food workers must wear caps that keep hair from falling into food. In the factory that worked in a few years back it was a requirement that long hair be kept in a manner which kept it free from entering machinery.
Is it a safety concern of your employer that hair be kept no longer than the shoulders? I believe that we all can agree on safety issue that protects the employee has well as the employer.
What I cannot agree on is an employer who wishes to force their own version on how men should look as well as women when that is the only issue and has no bearing on how it affects safety or the job in general.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Rookie120 0]

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If long hair poses a safety concern (caught in moving machinery,

Which it is here. Lots of stuff moving to get things caught on. They really dont even like to see wedding bands on.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[Andy9o8 2]

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He was informed at the time of hire that he would have to cut it but then refused. How could he file a suit and have a leg to stand on?

He probably wouldn't, especially given the fact that (a) those were the stated conditions of employment at the time he applied for the job, and (b) it's done for a legitimate safety consideration.

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On a similar note: I said above that exceptions to "no beards" policies sometimes have to be made to accomodate religious reasons. An "exception to this exception" might be jobs such as firefighters, where there's an issue over whether a respirator mask will get an airtight seal over a bearded face.

These types of cases often have to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

[kallend 2,146]

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If long hair poses a safety concern (caught in moving machinery,

Which it is here. Lots of stuff moving to get things caught on. They really dont even like to see wedding bands on.

So have we established that the policy is gender-neutral, and is solely related to safety? Women playing Daffy Duck can't have long hair either.

(I find it hard to imagine what the safety implications of long hair are to a Daffy Duck impersonator. Anyone? Anyone? ...)

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[rehmwa 2]

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(I find it hard to imagine what the safety implications of long hair are to a Daffy Duck impersonator. Anyone? Anyone? ...)

When Elmer shoots him his beak spins around and around.

That could really get tangled quite a bit during Duck Season - RABBIT THEASON!

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Rookie120 0]

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(I find it hard to imagine what the safety implications of long hair are to a Daffy Duck impersonator. Anyone? Anyone? ...)

So it's not a safety concern for hertobe daffy duck. But they are the employer who has to set dress code policy and enforce it. Whats wrong with that? I only wish people with the fast food joints would have one at there place so I dont have to see the 17 year old who's face looks like he got attacked by a nail gun.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[kallend 2,146]

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(I find it hard to imagine what the safety implications of long hair are to a Daffy Duck impersonator. Anyone? Anyone? ...)

So it's not a safety concern for hertobe daffy duck. But they are the employer who has to set dress code policy and enforce it. Whats wrong with that? I only wish people with the fast food joints would have one at there place so I dont have to see the 17 year old who's face looks like he got attacked by a nail gun.

So now it's NOT a safety issue.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[rehmwa 2]

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I only wish people with the fast food joints would have one at there place so I dont have to see the 17 year old who's face looks like he got attacked by a nail gun.

So now it's NOT a safety issue.

[Rookie120 0]

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So now it's NOT a safety issue.

Never said it was a saftey issue for him to be Daffu Duck. In my line it is a safety issue. What about the company having a dress code standards for it's employees? They pay the wages. If you dont like it, go work somewhere else. Thats the way I see it. If my company wanted me to shave my head, I would simply roll my tool box out the door. They make the rules and the employees have to run by those rules.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[kallend 2,146]

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So now it's NOT a safety issue.

Never said it was a saftey issue for him to be Daffu Duck. In my line it is a safety issue. What about the company having a dress code standards for it's employees? They pay the wages. If you dont like it, go work somewhere else. Thats the way I see it. If my company wanted me to shave my head, I would simply roll my tool box out the door. They make the rules and the employees have to run by those rules.

This is getting confusing. A long haired guy has a job being a Daffy Duck impersonator (NOTE - he is NOT in the food industry, nor does he have any reported piercings).

In the Daffy Duck context, is this:
(a) a safety issue, and if so, please explain,
(b) a health issue, and if so, please explain, and
(c) does either (a) or (b) apply if it is a girl and not a guy?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Rookie120 0]

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In the Daffy Duck context, is this:
(a) a safety issue, and if so, please explain,
(b) a health issue, and if so, please explain, and
(c) does either (a) or (b) apply if it is a girl and not a guy?

Or how about
(D) They are the employer and they make the rules. They want guy's to have short hair. Whats wrong with that?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[kallend 2,146]

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In the Daffy Duck context, is this:
(a) a safety issue, and if so, please explain,
(b) a health issue, and if so, please explain, and
(c) does either (a) or (b) apply if it is a girl and not a guy?

Or how about
(D) They are the employer and they make the rules. They want guy's to have short hair. Whats wrong with that?

Everything if the rule is only applied to males.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[mnealtx 0]

How so? He was told he would have to cut his hair when he was hired... he didn't, and was fired. He knew the rules and broke them.

Four words "Favorable Public Relations Environment"....

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706