One of the things that most characterizes the New York Yankees and which differentiates it from the others MLB franchises, is your facial hair policy that does not allow players to wear a beard, in addition to a haircut that does not exceed the height of the neck. The policy was imposed by “Chief” George Steinbrenner in 1973 and it has been in force since then, but is it legal?
Yankees policy allows mustaches and beards only for religious reasons, Steinbrenner wanting the team to take a “military and corporate” direction. However, even though this policy has been in place for almost 50 years, it is contrary to New York State law, in particular S4037.
The law stipulates that the employer must allow workers to bring their facial hair or hair the way they want, as long as it does not interfere with the performance of their work, the employer specifically notifying the reason why facial hair does not allow him to do the job.
When the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole in late 2019, there was some controversy, as the pitcher was always characterized by a thick beard and fairly long hair and they doubted whether he would accept a new look to sign in New York. . Because a single lawsuit for the S4037 violation against the team was enough to allow him to bring the desired look.
Since facial hair does not interfere at all with the performance of their players, it seems a matter of time before any Yankees player wants to sue the team and enforce the law, which he has not complied with since 1973.