The city has settled a class action lawsuit alleging that NYPD limits on beard length violated Muslim cops’ civil rights, officials confirmed.
The Jan. 2 settlement stems from a June 2016 lawsuit filed by Masood Syed, a Muslim cop claiming he was unjustly suspended for wearing a beard more than 1 millimeter long.
That length was the unofficial exception for religious reasons to the NYPD’s “no beard” rule, Syed had claimed in his Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit.
Shortly after Syed filed suit, he was reinstated, and the NYPD launched an internal review of its policy on facial hair.