Civil Rights | | Page 25

“On faith and the American Way”

January 20, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It was an interesting day to be reminded about the American principle of separation of church and state, as enshrined by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. On a day when Robert Bentley, Alabama’s new governor, had to apologize for his controversial comments about non-Christians, Ameek Singh, writing on a separate topic in The State News (the student newspaper out of Michigan State University), discusses the first amendment: …the history of faith in America continues this tradition. Americans have […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: Alabama, Ameek Singh, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Michigan State University, Robert Bentley, separation of church and state, The State News

The Sikh Coalition revises their Sikh Air Travellers Guide

January 13, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Coalition has announced an update to their Sikh Air Travellers Guide: Significantly, Sikhs should now expect to be secondarily screened 100 percent of the time at American airports, even after passing through so-called Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines. Although TSA publicly asserts on its website that such machines can see through “layers of clothing,” the TSA has made clear in both word and practice that such machines are not powerful enough to see through Sikh turbans. This means that, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Bobby Scott, Judy Chu, Melvin Watt, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Sikh Coalition, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

WRFA II

December 27, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

US Senator John Kerry has introduced the Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2010 to the US Senate. For Sikhs, this law has important implications: Under current law, employers are required to make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for the religious practices of their employees. Employers can bypass this requirement by showing that such accommodations would impose a minimal difficulty or expense on the employer’s business. WRFA would still allow employers to deny religious accommodations, but only by proving that such accommodations would constitute […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: 111th Congress, John Kerry, Richard Santorum, Workplace Religious Freedom Act, WRFA

TSA, USA cont’d

December 24, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The TSA is finding itself under increasing scrutiny. When not even a Sikh diplomat was spared from the demand to remove his turban at a US airport, the SGPC (the Sikhs’ representative body that manages Sikh shrines in India) held a demonstration outside the US Embassy in New Delhi to protest to the alleged targeting of Sikh turbans by the TSA. However, the TSA is receiving heat not just from abroad, but also from home.

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, California, Federal Flight Deck Officer, FFDO, Sacramento, SGPC, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, whistleblower

TSA, USA cont’d

December 22, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the Washington Post, the Sikh Coalition‘s Rajdeep Singh brings up the dubious claims of effectiveness of TSA’s AIT machines: “The TSA and [Department of Homeland Security] sort of intimated to us that if these machines were to be used as a primary form of screening and if they were so powerful that they could detect beads of perspiration, that it would obviate the need for a human screener and setting Sikhs aside for secondary screening,” he said. “But they’re […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, GAO, Government Accountability Office, L-3 Communications, Lobbying, Sikh Coalition, Transportation Security Administration

When the TSA “drops the ball”

December 9, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It had come to my mind the other day that I hadn’t seen much more fallout from the TSA’s new aggressive screening procedures. And then today, I receive this news in my inbox: December 9, 2010 (Washington, DC) – The Sikh Coalition filed a formal complaint this week with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on behalf of Mr. Daljeet Singh Mann, a business traveler, who was forced to remove his dastaar (Sikh turban) on two separate occasions within a span of only […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, Daljeet Singh Mann, Racial profiling, Sacramento International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, SFO, Sikh Coalition, SMF, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, Turban

The month of religious celebration or discrimination?

December 3, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Rich Meneghello is a lawyer based in Portland, Oregon, and writes about what defines religious discrimination in the workplace: December is the month when most religious discrimination claims originate, so employers should prepare for the holiday season carefully. Fast fact: Religion-related claims are the fastest-growing charges filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; from 1,388 in 1992 to 3,386 in 2009. Although there is no single explanation for the rise in filings, common theories include enhanced awareness of employee rights, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Cultural Competence, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Religious discrimination, workplace

California, put your legislation where your money is, cont’d

December 2, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Kamala Harris, who just claimed victory in the State of California’s Attorney General race, intends to look into the Trilochan Singh Oberoi case: Harris also said she would “absolutely” look into the case of Trilochan Singh Oberoi, a former Indian naval officer who is being denied a job as a security guard at Folsom State Prison because he refuses to shave off his beard. Harris, who is part Indian (her mother is a surgeon from Tamil Nadu in India) and part […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Folsom Prison, Jerry Brown, Kamala Harris, Nikki Haley, Trilochan Singh Oberoi

Sacramento cab driver attacked, cont’d

December 1, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Attacks on innocent individuals are always inexcusable, but the use of racial, ethnic and religious slurs are especially heinous and have no place in our society,” said SALDEF Associate Executive Director Jasjit Singh. “We call upon the West Sacramento Police Department and the FBI to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and that hate crimes charges are brought against any culprits that are found.” — The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) is also calling for the investigation […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: California, FBI, Harbhajan Singh, hate crime, robbery, Sacramento, SALDEF, taxicab

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Civil Rights

“On faith and the American Way”

The Sikh Coalition revises their Sikh Air Travellers Guide

WRFA II

TSA, USA cont’d

TSA, USA cont’d

When the TSA “drops the ball”

The month of religious celebration or discrimination?

California, put your legislation where your money is, cont’d

Sacramento cab driver attacked, cont’d