Baltimore, MD – Orthodox Medics, ACLU Challenge Religious Discrimination at Pikesville Fire Company

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    Baltimore,. MD – Three Orthodox medics assert in discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company (PVFC) has illegally barred them from riding on calls, in violation of their religious rights and in retaliation for their involvement in an Orthodox emergency response organization. The medics – Dr. Matthias Goldstein, Brennan Gross, and Avrohom Green – were told last winter that because of their refusal to shave their beards on religious grounds, they could not ride with the company as medics. This, the PVFC claimed, was because the beards might prevent them from wearing specialized safety masks that it hopes to purchase at some future date.

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    The medics are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the Baltimore office of Hogan & Hartson, which is working pro bono.

    “Not only does the fire company not yet equip any of its medics with these masks, but even if it did, such masks are not necessary for medics, because as a matter of policy, medics do not enter scenes where there is immediate danger to life and health,” said Dr. Matt Goldstein, an experienced emergency medical services instructor and paramedic who has worked with the Pikesville Company for 17 years. “Sadly, we cannot help but conclude that the no-beard rule is nothing more than a way to get rid of us – just a pretext for discrimination against Orthodox Jews.”

    Dr. Goldstein and Mr. Gross also volunteer for an emergency response organization, called Hatzalah, which services the northwest Baltimore communities. Hatzalah – meaning “rescue” or “relief” in Hebrew – is comprised predominately of responders from the Orthodox Jewish community. Conflict arose last December, after PVFC officials learned of Dr. Goldstein’s involvement in Hatzalah, which he believes PVFC’s views as a competing organization. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Goldstein and Mr. Gross were told they could no longer respond to medic calls because of their beards. Efforts by the Orthodox medics since that time to mediate the dispute have thus far proven unsuccessful, leading to their EEOC filing last week, which protects their rights to pursue an action in court, should that ultimately be necessary.

    “What a shame to have a service organization like this fighting religious turf wars, and using suspect safety concerns to turn away dedicated medics who are simply trying to serve their community in a way consistent with their religious beliefs,” said ACLU of Maryland Legal Director Deborah Jeon.

    The masks at issue, called self-contained breathing apparatus or SCBA masks, are typically worn by firefighters but not medics. The existence of facial hair makes it difficult for SCBA masks to fit tightly, but alternative safety masks are available that can be used by individuals who wear beards. In addition, last year, in a similar case in the District of Columbia involving bearded Muslim firefighters, the federal appellate court for the District of Columbia ruled that the no beard rule was improper, and that the department should accommodate the firefighters’ sincerely held religious beliefs.

    The Orthodox medics’ charges with the EEOC assert that the PVFC’s actions constitute religious discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Lawyers In the case include: Gil Abramson, Jennifer Walker, and Allison Caplis of Hogan & Hartson, and Deborah Jeon of the ACLU of Maryland.

    Bios of the Orthodox Medics:

    Dr. Matthias Goldstein: Dr. Goldstein is Chief of Preventive Medicine and Wellness at Good Samaritan Hospital. He is a Physician Assistant and has a doctorate in Health Sciences. Goldstein has been employed as a paramedic with the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company since April 1993. He has also been an instructor for the PVFC as well as the Baltimore County Fire Department. Dr. Goldstein is a practicing Orthodox Jew and maintains his beard as part of his religious beliefs.

    Three years ago, Dr. Goldstein became involved in a new Orthodox emergency response organization, called Hatzalah, which is comprised predominately of responders from the Orthodox Jewish community. This organization was established to bridge the service gap in the city and county northwest corridor. Until recently, he was never told that his beard posed any problem or issue with regard to his ability to perform his job. He has repeatedly tried in good faith the resolve the dispute, and even offered information on an alternative mask that accommodates the needs of healthcare professionals who have beards. But thus far he has been unable to resolve the dispute.

    Brennan A. Gross:
    Mr. Gross was hired by the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company in November 2008 as an EMT. However, despite maintaining his beard during the interview process, agility test, and PVFC company vote, he was informed in February 2009 that he could not perform the job because of his beard. Mr. Gross is especially concerned that other PVFC personnel without beards have been permitted to ride as medics even though they do not wear masks. He now is a paramedic with Hatzalah and has not been allowed to ride with PVFC.

    Avrohom Green:
    In January 2009, Mr. Green was denied acceptance as a medic with the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company because he maintains a beard. Mr. Green is a practicing Orthodox Jew and maintains his beard as part of his religious beliefs. He does not believe that the no-beard policy should also apply to medics, and in any case finds it troubling that although the same operating procedures have been in place since 2002, they are only now being interpreted to preclude service by bearded med


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    36 Comments
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    yudel
    yudel
    14 years ago

    They waited too long in Baltimore. I challenged Lakewood’s Firsd aid & stopped all of their funding based on them being a bigotry squad.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    the only way this kind of stuff will ever end is if those mking these mindless decisions when found guilty have to pay out of their pocket both money and their jobs. when they understand that there is a ramification to their action this nonsense will end.

    baltimorean
    baltimorean
    14 years ago

    Why fight it? And make the chillul Hashem? If the PVFC doesn’t want them then why don’t they just go somewhere else, if they feel a NEED to be a medic.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    while these rules may be from Osha, not every state is an Osha state. Meaning they don’t follow Osha regulations .
    When Miami Hatzalah was Training its first EMT Class , the issue also came up & turned out to be nothing ,since the state was not an “Osha State”

    Use Your Head
    Use Your Head
    14 years ago

    Nu, shave v’al ta’aseh adif.

    anonymous
    anonymous
    14 years ago

    the article was very well written. a lot is not being said. one has to know the area, the history of Pikesville volunteer and some of the characters there to understand what this is really about. v’hamavyin yovin. Shaving is NOT gonna solve the problem.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I do not understand the term not an OSHA State, if you are in the US and have employees you are subject to Federal law to protect employees. I am not an attorney but I guess perhaps employees of a government job may be exempted.

    I do agree the story has merit but it is obviously a one sided version that was produced as PR professionally.
    Moderator, please label press releases as what they are.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    the OSHA regulation only applies to those who need to be protected by the mask, medics do not make entry and therefore do not need an SCBA mask. Why after all these years the beards are an issue?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    how can they get Pikesviles funding cut off, I hope that the ACLU is working on that

    Truth
    Truth
    14 years ago

    This is rampid in the US. The anti-semitic people on first aid squads, don’t want frum jews especially after the birth of Hatzolah everywhere. The real problem is not so much the overt hatred, but the underlying hatred. I know a medic in a town where they don’t have Hatzolah and lost his job due to the fact of having a beard. You see these people really do have a goyishe Kopp. They fired him when OSHA came out with the regulation of N95 masks for TB. You can’t wear these with a beard because you can’t do fit testing. But with their goyishe Kopps they just follow the regs blindly, they don’t understand the reason behind it. The purpose of OSHA is to protect the employees against harmful things. This could be accomplished with having the medics or EMT’s wear PAPR’s. Someone has got to go to OSHA and have them change the regs, because these goyishe Kopps will never understand this simple concept. This is why they can’t begin to learn Torah Sheh Baal Peh!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Same rules apply in nyc FDNY pulled all bearded people from the street and they only do office work like dispaching and no one is making a fuss about it

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Observance as an Orthodox Jew isn’t a VOLUNTEER activity. PVFC is volunteer and therefore not something worth taking to court.

    bcofdemt
    bcofdemt
    14 years ago

    this doesn’t make any sense. although most bcofd emts/medics are not issued face pieces every single ambulance in the county carries two SCBA. If they were never to be used, why is it that the COUNTY (not PVFC) has found it mandatory that every ambulance in the Baltimore County carry not one, but two SCBA.

    It is common knowledge that anyone riding apparatus in Baltimore County must be clean shaven as is the case with most major fire departments. Although you do find certain courts that uphold these ludicrous claims that the clean shaven requirement is religious discrimination, these courts have no idea what goes into the daily life of a firefighter and, therefore, have no right to make decisions about such life-or-death situations as wearing a face peace.

    If you want to ride fire apparatus, you must be clean shaven.

    If you want to have facial hair, find another pastime.

    izzy
    izzy
    14 years ago

    I think people are missing the point here, as a medic I understand the issues quite well, however, this is not an issue of facial hair. The beard is simply being used as an excuse to prevent the frum people from riding the ambulances. There was no outcry about this before Baltimore started their own Hatzalah, if you read the article, PVFC feels that there will be competition and a conflict of interest.

    I ride the ambulance with a full beard, and have done so since 1999

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    So then PVFC has the right to control who is working for them and even they don’t want hatzalah competitors then so be it and there is no justification to go to court and make a chillul Hashem.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Be careful what you wish for. If PVFC has its funding cut, you could be putting yourselves at risk. Not only are they medics with state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment and highly trained personnel, they are firefighters. When is the last time hatzalah put out a house fire or a car fire and saved the people inside?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    These “discriminatory” policies come entirely from OSHA, MOSHA, and the BCoFD. The PVFC has NO CHOICE, but to enforce these rules, or they could be held liable for injury to their volunteers. And to clarify, BCoFD requires that medics and EMTs be fit tested, because they are expected to be capable of responding into dangerous atmospheres, so saying that they’re not firefighters is not a valid argument.

    Raphael Kaufman
    Raphael Kaufman
    14 years ago

    I have worn a full beard since my chassunah. In almost 40 years of working in power plants and oil refineries, I have only been required to remove my beard twice, both for refineries with API safety rules, for the same reason as given by the PVFC. In one instance I was given the option of providing and carrying my own positive pressure device. Wearing a beard is a hiddur, not yarog v’al yaver. After completing the projects in the refineries, my beard grew back. No problem.

    My case was involved with parnassah. For riding with a V.A.S. I don’t see that one should make an issue. If the beard is more important to you, don’t volunteer.

    have a issue can some one advise
    have a issue can some one advise
    14 years ago

    i am a emt parmedic, hatzolah ny, wont except me , i dont have a beard , can i sue them? just wondreing, i feel discriminated.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    First of all this is Matt’s battle. It’s not PVFD vs Hatzalah or visa versa. I’ve seen these 2 organizations work very well together in the field on several occasions. Hatzalah’s members live within the community and usually arrive on the scene within 60-90 seconds and stabilize the patient which makes the ambulance crews job easier and shortens the on scene time. Some members belong to both Hatzalah & PVFD. Did you know that all of PVFD’s line officers are Jewish? Did you know that Matt tried to get a Jewish career paramedic fired, or that he kicked Hatzalah’s #1 man out of his house? I guess he hates the Capt. of PVFD and is taking his hatred out on the PVFD. Why not sue the Baltimore County FD. I’m sure PVFD is following the county rules to protect it members. He is sueing an organization that is protecting our community. If I’m in an accident and need to be cut of of my car, I pray Pikesville’s squad is going to cut me out. If I have a fire in my home, I pray Pikesvilles Fire Engine and Ladder truck are going to rescue me and my family. I know volunteer fires companies keep my property taxes down. Matt, if you’re reading this, shame on you. G-d doesn’t like ugly.