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MTA Workers Win Right To Wear Turbans In $184K Settlement
By
John Del Signore
Published May 31, 2012
Modified May 31, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 31, 2012
Modified May 31, 2012
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A long legal battle with the MTA has ended favorably for Sikh and Muslim transit employees who, until now, have been denied the right to wear turbans on the job. The turban ban was implemented after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and workers who refused to remove their turbans or attach the authority’s logos were transferred to nonpublic positions. The Sikh Coalition subsequently filed a lawsuit against the MTA alleging religious discrimination, and yesterday the Justice Department announced a fat settlement in their favor.
The MTA will pay $184,500 to eight current or former employees who had been “denied religious accommodations," the Times reports. "There was a feeling in the community that Sikhs and Muslims have been collectively punished in some way for the events of 9/11," Amardeep Singh, the programs director of the Sikh Coalition, told the Times. Sikh and Muslim workers "may now wear their religious headdress freely—as they were allowed to do so before 9/11—without fear of segregation or discipline," the Coalition announced today.
Asked why Sikhs would not simply agree to wear the logo, Singh told the Wall Street Journal, "The sense was that the MTA logo was a corporate logo, and wearing it on a turban would defile it. Just the way wearing a McDonald's logo on a yarmulke would be disrespectful, or wearing a Target logo on a hijab would be disrespectful." Plaintiff Sat Hari Singh, a Sikh train operator, tells AFP, "The MTA honored me for driving my train in reverse away from the towers on 9/11 and leading passengers to safety. They called me a 'hero of 9/11.' I didn't have a corporate logo on my turban on 9/11. This policy made no sense. It was driven by fear. I'm glad it has come to an end."
Tagged
9/11
MTA
muslims
Sikhs
subways
turbans
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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