Other challenges in federal courts argued that hair regulations infringe upon the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. Courts have ruled that correctional officers may be subject to hair grooming policies if the state justifies its regulations with compelling interests such as safety, discipline, and esprit de corps and if the regulations do not substantially infringe upon an employee’s religious beliefs. Prisoners have also challenged hair grooming policies as impediments to the free exercise of religion. Prison officials, however, have claimed that hair grooming policies are necessary for hygiene, for identification of prisoners, and for prison security, in that some hairstyles might conceal weapons and contraband.
Generally the courts have held that if a grooming regulation is related to a legitimate interest, such as prison security, and does not deprive inmates of all ways of expressing their religious beliefs, the regulation is valid. However, prison officials are held to a higher standard when the inmate challenges a prison’s grooming policy under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, as did Muslim inmate Gregory Hobbs who wanted to grow a ½-inch beard for religious reasons (Holt v. Hobbs, 2015). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Warsoldier v. Woodford (9th Cir. 2005), issued a preliminary injunction shielding a Native American, whose religious beliefs prohibited him from cutting his hair except for the death of a close relative, against a prison regulation prohibiting hair of more than 3 inches in length.
