NEW YORK: Sikhs in the US will be allowed to wear turbans and grow beards in federal agencies like the police department and transit authority after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will ensure freedom for employees to practice religious beliefs at workplace.
The ‘Workplace Religious Freedom’ bill was initiated by civil rights group Sikh Coalition and sponsored by Queens democrat council member Mark Weprin.
In signing the law, Bloomberg said employers must make a “reasonable accommodation” for an employee’s religious practices unless following such practices creates an “undue hardship” .
“This bill sends the message that people should not have to choose between serving our city and adhering to their religious beliefs. All Americans should receive the full embrace of our country’s constitutional freedoms ,” Weprin said. “The law is a major step in ensuring Sikhs and other religious minorities are not unfairly excluded from jobs,” Amardeep Singh, co-founder and director of Sikh’s Coalition programe, said.
News Source: The Times of India
