A federal judge Thursday struck down a Los Angeles County order that forbade firefighters from reading or possessing Playboy in firehouses, ruling that the anti-sexual-harassment measure violated constitutional guarantees of free speech and press.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson issued an order barring the county from enforcing its ban on Playboy against Fire Department Capt. Steven W. Johnson, who brought a lawsuit challenging the policy. The judge found that the ban placed "severe limitations on Johnson's First Amendment rights."
County officials failed to prove their argument "that quiet reading of Playboy contributes to a sexually harassing atmosphere," Wilson announced at a hearing in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
Attorneys for the county said it is likely they will appeal Wilson's ruling.
"It's a win for both sides," said Johnson, a 27-year veteran who was represented by ACLU and Playboy attorneys. "Because now both sides can choose what they want to read."
Johnson, a resident of Corona del Mar, said he plans to have a copy of Playboy in hand when he returns to work Monday at his station in Lake Los Angeles, in the far northeastern corner of the Antelope Valley.
Fire Department officials banned Playboy and other magazines featuring pictures of nude or skimpily dressed women from all work locations in 1992, saying the measure was needed to prevent development of a "sexually charged environment" for the department's 11 women firefighters who work with about 2,400 men.
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During Tuesday's trial, one county official testified that the ban would also apply to certain issues of Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated magazines that contained pictures of nude or partially nude women.
Whether county fire officials will apply Wilson's ruling to all magazines remains unknown, because the judge's order specifies only Playboy.
Johnson's attorneys argued that the ban violated his constitutional rights and that while the county may have had good intentions, the policy was vague and overly broad.
"The department said they didn't want Capt. Johnson reading something they didn't want him thinking about," said ACLU attorney Paul L. Hoffman after the hearing Thursday. "When you start allowing that kind of thought control, you're going down the wrong track."
Hoffman, one of four attorneys to represent Johnson, said the case should send a message to employers that they must take workers' rights into account when formulating similar policies.
