New York Allows Headgear for Sikh, Muslim Transit Employees

Another plaintiff Inderjit Singh said he had worked as a station agent for more than a decade before 9/11. “My turban never interfered with my work in any way. I’m happy that I can do my job now without having to worry about this policy hanging over me,” he said.

 In March 2005, a US Justice Department investigation found over 200 instances of MTA employees wearing headdress without an MTA logo during three days of inspection. The Justice Department filed its own suit against the MTA in September 2004 and primarily led the litigation.

 In July 2005, groups like the Sikh Coalition and the Centre for Constitutional Rights filed discrimination charges on behalf of six Sikh plaintiffs.

 In a statement, the MTA said its rules had been “reasonable” and “never animated by religious or ethnic bias.”

 The transit agency said it agrees “to modify the headwear portion of the NYCT uniform policy to permit employees in those titles to wear turbans, headscarves and certain other forms of headwear that do not contain the standard NYCT-issued logo.”

Shayana Kadidal, a Senior Managing Attorney at the Centre for Constitutional Rights said the MTA’s proposal to brand workers’ turbans with a corporate logo was “unacceptable”.