US NRI Sikh awarded $24,000 discrimination complaint against security company

 

Texas, January 23, 2009
Narinder Bhalla


NRI Sukhdev Singh Brar was awarded USD 24,000 as compensation when he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that he was being discriminated against for wearing a turban.

Mr. Brar was working in a Texas-based security company- Champion National Security that discriminated against Sukhdev Singh Brar. The company acknowledged the discriminatory policy and has agreed to post anti-discriminatory notices on all employee bulletin boards and pay Brar USD 24,000 as a part of settlement of the case.

Robert Canino, regional attorney for the EEOC's Dallas Office said, "Sometimes discrimination that does not stem from direct hostility is nevertheless unlawful because a business has sought to satisfy prejudiced preferences projected on its clients."

Champion National Security has also agreed on a change in the policy with continued Sikh awareness training, to be provided by the Sikh organisation.

We hope this is going to be a wake-up call for the US industry

Turban discrimination is a major problem in America and it's about time we did something about it. That's why President
Bush, on my recommendation, has decided to officially proclaim March as "Hug Your Turbaned Friend Month."

We will also become aware that not all turban-wearers are Muslims. Many are Sikhs, belonging to a religion that
originated in India a few centuries ago.

We will offer some simple "turban tips" to airport security people. That way, they won't have to look stupid when
explaining a turban search to higher authorities, as demonstrated in the following skit.