SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A metro Atlanta man moved his family from New York to Atlanta with hopes of starting a new job in the City of South Fulton Police Department until he was allegedly met with religious hair discrimination, according to a new federal lawsuit.
Milton Myrie had his locs for 20 years as a representation of his Rastafarian faith community before he was allegedly forced to cut them, the suit said.
Myrie's attorney, Arnold Lizana told 11Alive's Karys Belger his scalp was permanently damaged after cutting his hair, making it hard for him to grow his hair back.
"They're important to him as part of his Rastafarian religion, his family, all of them have locks. And because of this situation, he is the only one in this family who doesn't have locks at this point."
Court documents state that his Rastafarian faith tradition symbolizes locs as a "biblical wisdom" service as his "spiritual energy conductors."
The suit also stated that his faith warns about shaving his head, and his locs represented "the power and strength of a person."
"Myrie’s faith and hair locs were a source of comfort and stability in his life. He had a deep and personal spiritual connection to his hair locs, and would not have cut them if he knew he could have kept them in accordance with federal law and the City’s CROWN Act," said the lawsuit.
He worked for the department from February 2021 up until February this year, when he was allegedly told he needed to resign.
In the lawsuit, Myrie claims he went through the entire onboarding and interview process for the job.
Before signing his offer and in his last interview, a former deputy chief who was a woman with locs herself told Myrie he would need to cut his locs in order to work for the City of South Fulton. Myrie claims a sex-based double standard was applied to his locs.
He cut his locs before he officially started with the department in January 2021. The lawsuit described the experience as "one of the most traumatizing experiences of his life."
Other male colleagues then informed Myrie that the same former deputy chief told them they might be required to cut their locs to enter the academy because of the length of their hair. Later, one colleague told Myrie that there were certain procedures in place that would have allowed him to keep his locs for religious reasons. Myrie then spoke with a Human Resources representative in early February, where he claimed that the former deputy chief failed to inform him of the procedures.
"He understands that this this fight is bigger than him, and he hopes that there will be some significant change as a result of it," Lizana told 11Alive.
After his resignation, Myrie first filed a complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where he claimed he was forced to leave his job because of retaliation. He was then granted the right to sue the city.
The lawsuit claims the City of South Fulton violated its own CROWN Act. According to a City of South Fulton document, the law was signed on November 10, 2020, before Myrie was employed.
CROWN stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The City of South Fulton CROWN Act states residents with natural hair do not experience workplace discrimination for religious, cultural or racial reasons.
Attorneys for Myrie stated in the lawsuit the City of South Fulton also failed to engage in an interactive process, accommodate a religious hairstyle and engage in sex-based disparate treatment, violating the Civil Rights Act.
The City of South Fulton released the following statement below:
Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the alleged lawsuit filed against the City of South Fulton and the South Fulton Police Department. At this time, we are unable to provide comments on pending litigation.
Please be assured that we take all allegations seriously and are committed to ensuring a fair and just workplace for all employees.
It's essential to note that our city is dedicated to upholding the principles outlined in the CROWN Act, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for all employees.
We appreciate your understanding of our position during this time and will provide updates as appropriate.