Shelby Township Fire Department v. Shields

Raymond E. Shields appeals by right the circuit court’s affirmance of the Shelby Township Police and Firefighters Civil Service Commission’s (commission) decision to discharge him from the Shelby Township Fire Department (department).

On February 4, 1968, Shields was hired by the Shelby Township Fire Department as a firefighter. In 1975, Shields became a firefighter-medic, and he continued in this position until his discharge. Shields is a victim of pseudofolliculitis barbae, an illness caused by ingrown beard stubble. Shaving aggravates this condition, and thus the normal treatment involves…