Body Modification In The Workplace

The First Amendment states that Americans have the right to freedom of religion; however, when they take this Amendment and place it into practice in a workplace, the Amendment begins to crumble and Americans face defeat in the hands of industries and organizations. “The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from restricting an individual’s religious practices. Also, it guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the right of individuals to speak freely” (Amendment). With this in mind, some religion requires their members to have exposed piercings, tattoos, or dress wear at all times. When these members take their religion

During her time with the company, she was also a member of the Church of Body Modification. This church was a “national organization of some thousand members that emphasizes, as part of its religious doctrine, spiritual growth through body modification” (Cloutier). Furthermore, members of the church believed that the “body, soul, and mind are one entity” (Roberts). Which allows members of this church to display their spirituality through exposed piercings and tattoos. As a result, Cloutier was responsible for wearing religious piercings displayed on her face. This became a huge issue in the workplace on behalf of Costco. Costco requested multiple times for Cloutier to remove her piercings in the workplace; nonetheless, Cloutier argued that her piercings were part of her religion. Regardless of her religion, Costco decided to terminate Cloutier from the workplace as a result of Costco’s dress code violation. Furious with the result of this action, Cloutier decided to take this complication into court as a result of Costco violating her First Amendment right. While in court, the authority decided to revoke Cloutier’s lawsuit and side with the defendant, Costco. The court argued that “members of the Church of Body Modification were viewed as unconventional and bizarre” (Cloutier); because of this, the sole image of the company could be affected if they permit the piercing in the workplace. Thus, the First

During his time at the department, Booth was a member of the Rastafarian religion. This religion is the “belief in the Judeo-Christian God and is based on Judaism and Christianity, with an emphasis on Old Testament laws and prophecies and the Book of Revelation” (Rastafarianism). Furthermore, the use of dreadlocks in this religion is a “sign of African identity and religious vow of separation from wider society” (Booth). As a result, Booth is required to have dreadlocks at all times as part of his religion. However, officers in the workplace were required to have no longer than two inches of hair length. Booth’s violation of the dress code received multiple complaints. One of which was to “remove his dreadlocks to comply with the dress code policy” (Booth). After multiple requests, Booth decided to get in contact with a superior and urge an end to this matter. However, the matter didn’t end the way Booth was anticipating. He was “denied his request for a religious exemption to the policy and was informed that consequences will be given if he did not comply with the policy” (Booth). Even with this in mind, Booth refused to remove the symbols of his religion and decided to take this matter into court. He argued that the dress code policy in the department violated his right under the First Amendment. Booth also listed employees that violated the policy but were still allowed to