Sikh Coalition Releases Updated 2023 Policy Priorities: On July 19, the Sikh Coalition released the third edition of our flagship policy guide: Combating Bias, Bigotry, and Backlash: Sikh American Civil Rights Policy Priorities. This document focuses on core areas of Sikh Coalition’s work, including hate crimes, employment discrimination, and more inclusive schools, as well as efforts to counter white supremacy, reform profiling and policing, ensure humane immigration policies, and fight for religious freedom and democracy. We continue to engage at all levels of government to ensure that Sikh civil rights issues are at the forefront of our national conversation.
Second Complaint Against Company for Refusing Another Sikh Paramedic’s PPE Accommodation: On July 14, the Sikh Coalition filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Civil Rights Department against Global Medical Response (GMR) and its subsidiary American Medical Response (AMR). This complaint is a result of the wrongful termination of Mr. Inder Dhanota, a Sikh paramedic and client represented by the Sikh Coalition, Scott Employment Law, P.C., and Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP. This is now the second client, after Mr. Ravinder Singh, who has approached the Sikh Coalition for legal assistance due to employment discrimination by this company. We will continue to advocate for all Sikhs’ rights to maintain their articles of faith in the workplace, regardless of their career field.
Sikh Coalition hosts ‘Breaking Bread’ in New York: The Sikh Coalition was honored to host a ‘Breaking Bread, Building Bonds’ dinner on July 24 in New York City at Jus Punjabi’s studio in Queens. This is a citywide initiative from Mayor Eric Adams, which aims to bring New Yorkers together to share cultures and traditions. It was heartwarming to share dinner and conversation with representatives from partner orgs, city agencies, and members of the local sangat.
Sikh Coalition Joins U.S. Department of Education Conference: On July 18, Sikh Coalition Education Manager Upneet Kaur joined the U.S. Department of Education’s conference on Fostering Religious Literacy & Interfaith Cooperation for PreK-12 Students. Her session presented frameworks for implementing religious literacy initiatives where panelists explored the role of inclusion efforts in student identity formation, including addressing bullying and exclusion, and the value of data collection in supporting religious minority and nonreligious students.
Sikh Coalition joins the American Bar Association’s panel on Supreme Court Decision: On July 18, Sikh Coalition Legal Director Amrith Kaur Aakre joined the American Bar Association’s panel on analyzing the Supreme Court decision in Groff v Dejoy. This decision involved a Christian postal worker being denied religious accommodation for his religious observance on Sundays. In this panel, Amrith discussed how after this ruling, in order to deny an employee’s religious accommodation, employers must show that the request would result in “substantial increased costs” on the conduct of their business. She shared how with this ruling, the standard employers have to deny a Sikh employee’s accommodation request to maintain their facial hair, turbans, karas, and more is higher—which should hopefully result in more access to accommodations in the workplace. The Sikh Coalition was also proud that an amicus brief filed by our organization was cited by SCOTUS in their decision.
Sikh Coalition Policy and Education Director joins Summer Speaker Series: On July 27, Sikh Coalition Policy and Education Director Harman Singh joined Interfaith Education Cohort’s summer speaker series as the second guest speaker this summer. He talked about ways to provide support to Sikh students in schools and how to create inclusive classrooms. Attendees were able to learn more about the Sikh faith and community, as well as challenges faced by Sikh students in our nation’s public schools.
Sikh Coalition Joins Convening with Partner Orgs and NYC Mayor: Sikh Coalition Senior Manager of Advocacy & Policy Nikki Singh joined the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, The Arab American Association of New York, and other Partners Against Hate (P.A.T.H) FORWARD organizations in a meeting with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss our shared work to address hate in New York City. We continue to pursue legal, advocacy, community, and media work alongside numerous partners in our multi-pronged approach to combating hate violence both in New York City, and nationwide.
We’re hiring! The Sikh Coalition is expanding our team! We are currently hiring for three full-time positions: Media and Communications Director, Senior State Policy Manager, and Senior Education Manager. Learn more about these opportunities with our communications, policy, and education teams. Apply today!