Supervisor Told Woman That Sikhs Are “Thieves and Nasty” and that She Should Take Off Her Turban
(New York, New York) July 31, 2005 - A charge of discrimination was filed last week with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a Sikh woman whose supervisor told her that she should take off her turban and that Sikhs are “thieves and nasty.” The discrimination charges were filed on her behalf by the Sikh Coalition in collaboration with a private attorney, Ravinder Singh (Bhalla).
The Sikh woman, Sukhvir Kaur, was ultimately fired from her job at a National Wholesale Liquidators store in Queens, New York. She had worked for National Wholesale Liquidators for over two years in the clothing department. She was fired during October 2004.
| “I was humiliated by this man. He said Sikhs are thieves and are nasty people. He made very lewd and disgusting comments towards me and other women. He told me to take off my turban. When I resisted his advances, he made me clean bathrooms. .” |
Ms. Kaur’s trouble began when her employer hired a new manager during the summer of 2004. The manager told her that he did not want Indians and Pakistanis working at the store, and that he preferred Guyanese and Spanish employees. He said that Indian and Pakistani employees were “dirty” and “nasty” and that Sikh employees are “thieves.”
In addition to speaking in derogatory terms about her religion and ethnicity, Ms. Kaur’s manager also told her to take off her turban because he liked women with long hair. He said also asked Ms. Kaur to wear western clothing because she would look more attractive to him.
When Ms. Kaur refused her manager’s advances, he retaliated against her by requiring her to clean bathrooms. Her manager told her that if she ever complained to anyone about him, he would report to the police that she had been stealing from the store. Ms. Kaur was ultimately fired by her manager because she refused his advances.
The Sikh Coalition is representing Ms. Kaur in her attempt to gain justice from National Wholesale Liquidators. Over the next few months, the EEOC will investigate her claims and attempt to resolve the matter. If the EEOC is not able to resolve this matter to Ms. Kaur’s satisfaction, the Coalition is prepared to file a federal lawsuit on her behalf.
The Coalition applauds Ms. Kaur’s courage and calls upon all Sikhs to stand up against injustice in the workplace. If you or anyone you know is a victim of employment discrimination, please report it at: www.sikhcoalition.org/ListReports.asp.
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