Nashville Publix Didn't Hire Man Because Of His Dreads, Lawsuit Says

NASHVILLE, TN — A federal agency is suing Publix, alleging a Rastafarian was refused employment at the store's Harding Pike location because he refused to cut his dreadlocks.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed its suit this week, saying that the Lakeland, Florida-based chain should have accommodated the man's reasonable request to both work and keep the long hairstyle that Rastafarians consider a "distinguish mark of the movement" symbolizing a covenant with God and a symbolic rejection of the norms of society at-large.

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According to the lawsuit, in January, a Publix recruiter approached Guy Usher, 28, and encouraged him to apply for part-time work at the Harding Pike store. Usher was interviewed by the store's assistant manager and customer service manager. The lawsuit said he was considered for a cashier position and a produce clerk position, but that the assistant store manager told Usher corporate grooming standards required that male employees' hair be cut above the collar and that he would have to cut his dreadlocks.

According to the suit, Usher told the assistant manager that he was not permitted to cut his hair due to his religion and offered to wear it inside a cap while at work as a compromise. The next day, the assistant manager officially offered Usher a job but reiterated he would have to cut his hair. Usher initially refused employment based on this requirement, but then called back and accepted the job, informing the store of federal equal-employment opportunity laws.

A few days later, after completing a drug screen, Usher again informed his higher-ups that he did not feel comfortable cutting his hair, and the offer of employment was withdrawn.

The EEOC says Publix denied Usher "equal employment opportunities and otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee because of his religion" and that the chain "did not offer any religious accommodation to Usher for his religious beliefs" and "withdrew the offer of employment to Usher because his religious beliefs conflicted with [Publix]’s Appearance Standards."

"At Publix, we value and appreciate the diversity of all of our associates. We work to provide environments where known religious beliefs and practices of our associates and applicants are reasonably accommodated. As I'm sure you can understand, it would be inappropriate for us to comment specifically on this case, as it is pending litigation. However, please know that we are dedicated to the employment security of our associates and that we regularly provide accommodations to associates due to their religious beliefs, as required by law," Publix told Patch through a spokesperson.

Dreadlock lawsuits are not terribly unusual and, historically, have been won by the employee or settled before trial. A notable exception is an Alabama woman who sued an insurance company for denying her employment because she refused to cut her hair; she was, however, not Rastafari.

Rastafari developed in poverty-stricken areas of Jamaica in the 1930s. It lacks a central hegemony which has resulted in a set of beliefs which vary across practitioners. Its most famous adherent is reggae legend Bob Marley, and even its most well-known beliefs — the use of marijuana as a path to enlightenment and that the late Ethopian Emperor Haile Selassie is God or the messiah — are not universally held.

Photo by J.R. Lind, Patch staff