Written by Don Byrd
A Sikh employee of Disney will no longer be restricted to the corporate office area of Disney World after the company agreed to accommodate his religious need to wear a turban and beard. Strict grooming rules for theme park employees had for 7 years prevented Gurdit Singh from delivering mail as other carriers do: throughout the park.
The ACLU and the Sikh Coalition explained in a letter to Disney that the company’s denial of a religious accommodation to Mr. Singh is an unlawful discrimination. Here is an excerpt:
Disney’s continued segregation of Mr. Singh has had a deep and adverse emotional impact on him over the years. As a result of being segregated because of his South Asian (Indian) ancestry and his Sikh religious appearance, Mr. Singh feels that his employer and colleagues are punishing him. He does not believe he is fully considered a part of the DSA team, and feels singled-out, humiliated, and ashamed because of the way he looks and what he believes. Disney’s treatment of Mr. Singh is not compatible with a company that claims to celebrate diversity and aims to attract visitors from all over the world, including many turbaned Sikhs. It also violates federal law.
The ACLU celebrated Disney’s decision to no longer keep Mr. Singh from public view. “The change will dramatically improve his work experience.” Congrats to Mr. Singh and kudos to Disney for recognizing that a “look policy” is not worth segregating an employee whose sincere religious beliefs do not allow him to follow it.
