Feds sue to bar a dress code

The federal government has sued a Philadelphia school system.  The school had a "grooming policy" that said school security officers couldn't have beards more than a quarter of an inch long.

A school security officer who hadn't cut his beard in 25 years refused to comply with the policy on religious grounds, and was issued a letter of reprimand.  The Department of Justice then sued the school system on his behalf, demanding that the school system make an exception to its policy to accommodate religious beliefs.

As everyone surely guessed, the bearded employee was Muslim, which explains why the DOI [sic] was in such a hurry to sue on his behalf.  Cuz everyone knows the feds are always standing up for the rights of religious folks who claim their religious bars them from complying with some law.

You know, like...um...a private Catholic university that claims that Catholicism bars it from providing employee health insurance that offers abortions or provides birth control.  (Google "Notre Dame health insurance.")

Or Christian parents who want to home-school their kids because they believe the public schools encourage immoral behavior in kids.

But I digress.  I wanted to write about this federal lawsuit not because of its effect on a city school system but for what I think is a more important reason:  If the feds will file a lawsuit against a school system, does anyone believe they wouldn't be willing to sue any business that has any code of behavior or dress or policy?

This is just one more example of the feds making it harder for people to run a business.  For example, they decreed that a business owner can't refuse to hire someone who has a felony conviction.  Then when a lot of people started complaining about how utterly insane that was, they got canny and decreed that an employer can't use background checks to do much more than verify a job applicant's name and address--can't use past convictions or bad behavior to decline to hire.

Wow.  Just...wow.

Imagine some bright American was thinking about starting a business, and learned about these decrees.  Do you think this might make them decide not to start that business?

Let me try again:  Starting a business is risky enough without the government demanding that you hire a felon. Or a person whose appearance scares customers.  And when someone decides the risk outweighs the benefits, that business won't get started. 

Multiply by 100,000.

That is all.