Sikh News US Sikh Files Racial Discrimination Case Against Company (New Kerala)

[Sikh News Reporter]

By Lalit K. Jha, Jersey City (New Jersey), Nov 8 : A Sikh youth in the US who was allegedly asked to shave off his facial hair to get a job has filed a discrimination charge against the company.

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[Satjot Kaur]

It seems that he is claiming racial discrimination. Although his lawyer may have chosen that approach due to employment laws being more applicable to this case, he could lose on that claim as facial hair is not something that can not be shaved due to a condition of birth. It is something that should not be shaved as part of a religious belief. What he should be claiming is violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There may still be some wiggle room, as his complaint is against a private company, however I believe that he would have a better chance going from this angle.

 

[spnadmin]

A few years back I did some extensive research in the area of US Constitutional/Federal law prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on religion. Here is the bottom line. It is next to impossible to win a case claiming religious discrimination if an employee or prospective employee knew at the time he/she is hired of a written company policy that prohibits specific religious attire or symbols or that prohibits specific practices (such as refusing to work on a particular day like Friday, Saturday or Sunday).

Now the article says this: Sikh Coalition, whose attorneys have been in touch with Tri-County Lexus, said the company denies having any such corporate discriminatory policy.

In this case everything depends on whether the company can produce a policy that forbids facial hair.