“For two years, they’ve gotten on me about little things like not shaving every day,” said Brandon Wesley, a 19-year-old Tallahassee resident who has worked for Publix for two years as a cashier, bagger and, most recently, a stock associate. “I’ve seen a lot of the other associates not be pleased with the policy either.”

Wesley, also a student at Tallahassee Community College, decided to do something about it.

On May 23, he launched a petition titled “Let us have beards!” on www.Coworker.org, an online forum where anyone can start a campaign they believe will improve their workplace.