Chambers

Timothy E. Chambers has appealed from a judgment denying his application for a writ of mandate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5, by which he sought to annul an order of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

The Department of Human Resources Development had denied Chambers unemployment compensation benefits. On his appeal to a referee (see Unemp. Ins. Code, § 404) the department was reversed. Another appeal to the appeals board (see Unemp. Ins. Code, § 409) resulted in an order sustaining the department. This in turn brought about the mandate proceedings and the judgment from which the instant appeal was taken.

Chambers, an unemployed automotive mechanic, had allowed his hair to grow 13 inches in length; he kept it tied behind his head in a “pony tail.” He also wore a mustache and a full beard which extended 3 or 4 inches below his chin. The department had made a survey of 126 employers of automotive mechanics in the Santa Clara County area where Chambers lived and had last been employed. This survey indicated that only 10 to 13 percent of the employers would hire a man with Chambers’ hirsute appearance.

In denying benefits the department concluded that…