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Sikh Coalition to Testify on Workplace Religious Freedom Act
By siliconindia
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Friday, 01 July 2011, 00:29 IST
Fremont: Sikh Coalition will assemble for the hearing before the New York City Council's Civil Rights Committee today. The hearing will be regarding the bill that would significantly enhance the responsibility of employers to protect religious freedom in the workplace. It will be held at 10:00 AM at 250 Broadway, Committee Room, 14th Fl.
Several cases have been reported where the Sikh community faced discrimination because of their Sikh identity. Men are forced to take off their turbans and shave off their beard; they cannot enter the New York Police Department without taking off their turbans and the employee's of MTA are asked to brand their turbans with MTA logo.
Under current city law, employers are required to make 'reasonable accommodations' for the religious practices of their employees. Employers can bypass this requirement by showing that such accommodations would impose a minimal difficulty or expense on the employer's business. Today's bill if enacted would still allow employers to deny religious accommodations, but only by proving that such accommodations would constitute a significant difficulty or expense. If enacted, this bill would make it significantly harder for an employer to discriminate against a Sikh or member of any faith community in the workplace.