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Firm denies Sikh man job because
of turban, beard
WSN Network
 Indianapolis:
An Indianapolis man who practices the Sikh faith was denied a job
because of his religious practices -- a violation of federal civil
rights laws -- according to a federal lawsuit filed by Public
Justice and its co-counsel Kim Jeselskis.
The complaint
alleges that Air Serv Corporation, which provides services at
airports around the country, denied employment to Inderjit Singh
because he wears a turban and beard, as required by his Sikh
religion.
Singh, a U.S.
citizen, applied for a job with Air Serv as a shuttle bus driver at
the Indianapolis International Airport and passed a drug test and
background check, but the company refused to hire him even after
Singh explained that his turban and beard are required by his
religion.
"I just want to
work and earn a living, but Air Serv refused to give me a chance
even after they understood that a turban and beard are an integral
part of my faith," said Singh. "I don't want this to happen to
anyone else, and I don't want my son to face discrimination in the
future because of his own turban and beard."
Sikhs maintain
uncut hair throughout their lives, and the turban is a mandated
article of their religious faith. "An investigation by the federal
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already determined that
there is a reason to believe that Air Serv violated the law,"
according to Victoria Ni, a Public Justice Staff Attorney
representing Singh. "The company should make this right."
Public Justice's
lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Indiana, alleges that Air Serv violated the law when it
failed to make accommodations to its grooming policy to allow Singh
to work for the company with a turban and beard.
"The company had
a duty to make reasonable accommodations for Mr. Singh's sincerely
held religious beliefs," explained Kim Jeselskis of
Indianapolis,
who also represents Singh. "Federal law is clear about this, and
our client deserved better."
Air Serv is
based in Atlanta, Georgia, but has offices at airports throughout
the U.S.
and the U.K.
Singh applied
for the shuttle driver's job with Air Serv in late 2007. At that
time, the position paid $9.90 an hour.
"My father is a
hardworking American citizen who just wants to support his family,"
said T.J. Singh, Inderjit Singh's son and a student at Ball State
University in Muncie, Ind. "Nothing about my dad's beard and turban
would have interfered with being a shuttle bus driver."
2
December 2009
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