PHILADELPHIA (RNS) — Just weeks after joining the Philadelphia Police Department in 1995, Kimberlie Webb converted to Islam and sought permission to wear a head scarf on the job.
Her supervisors continually rejected her request over the years.
Last year, a federal district court backed their decision. Webb appealed, and the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case on Sept. 9.
The issue arises frequently in the nation's courts: To what degree must employers accommodate a worker's request to wear religious garb?
No police departments explicitly allow women to wear religious head scarves on the job, said Bahir Mustafa, director of member relations for the American Muslim Law Enforcement Association.
Crosses are banned by the same department regulation that also bans head scarves and all religious garb.
“The department feels strongly that in order to effectively police, there has to be neutrality among police officer uniforms, and that anything that is differentiating — expressing some point of view, religious or ethnic — is detrimental to that mission,” said Eleanor Ewing, an attorney for the city of Philadelphia.
Webb's attorney said the department overstates the importance of uniformity in officer appearance.
The judges are expected to rule in two or three months.