Sikhs slam US correctional agency's discriminatory beard policy
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Feb, 2023 11:33 AM
New York, Feb 15 (IANS) Sikhs and civil rights activists have expressed grave concerns over California correctional agency's updated policy that forces bearded officers to shave or face disciplinary action.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) rolled out an updated policy on February 1 that requires staff members to shave facial hair, irrespective of any religious or medical reasons they may have for keeping it.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California and the Sikh Coalition, the new policy would disproportionately target religious minorities like Sikh and Black Americans.
"This policy has created enormous fear and confusion for Sikh CDCR peace officers whose previously held religious accommodations are no longer valid. It now seemingly forces them to either comply with the shaving requirement under extreme duress or risk their employment," said Harsimran Kaur, Sikh Coalition's senior legal counsel.
A CDCR representative said the policy change is an effort to comply with the department's Covid safety measures.
"They've rolled out this blanket, very over-broad policy, that all peace officers must shave to wear N-95s," Kaur told NBC News. "But we know that there are alternative respirators out there that bearded people can wear safely to do their jobs... We think there's a way to keep bearded people safe and not trample on their civil rights."
In a letter addressed to the CDCR, the rights groups also mention a medical condition that causes painful skin inflammation and scarring, specifically among Black men. The new policy "unfairly penalizes Black officers who are much more likely than their white coworkers to suffer from a painful skin condition caused by shaving," said Brandon Greene, director of the Racial and Economic Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California.
"This policy may result in disproportionate discipline and firings of Black CDCR officers," Greene said.
In the week since the policy went into full effect, both organisations received requests for legal help from Black and Sikh individuals working at CDCR facilities across the state who have been negatively impacted by this move. According to a December 2022 report from the California Department of Human Resources, about 2,000 of CDCR's approximately 41,000 employees are Black men. Although the exact number of Sikh CDCR peace officers is not available, observant Sikhs are required to wear a religious uniform consisting of a dastaar (turban) and articles of faith, including but not limited to kesh (uncut hair, including an unshorn beard).
"Between just these two impacted communities, it's conservatively estimated that hundreds of CDCR peace officers are in jeopardy of being forced to make the false choice between their health or faith and their career," the Sikh Coalition-ACLU letter stated.
Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that Sikhs recruits in the US Marine Corps can keep a beard and wear turbans. The judges cited cutting hair and shaving beards as a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters that a 15-year-old was killed while three adults -- two civilians and one police officer -- were wounded but are expected to survive.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew that a customer who visited the 7-Elven store found no one was working and called police, WTKR said. When police went there they found Patel, 52, and Logan Edward Thomas, 35, dead at the store attached to a petrol station, Drew said.
The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 — that’s roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children.
Fauci is Biden’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force under former President Donald Trump.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is developing an initiative for “fair access” to vaccines and treatments that it hopes will be ready within weeks. The mechanism was proposed shortly after Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the U.S. and other countries reported hundreds of monkeypox cases last month.
As of Friday, the U.S. had identified 45 cases in 15 states and the District of Columbia. More than 1,300 cases have been found in about 30 other countries outside the areas of Africa where the virus is endemic.
