Abrai gets job, USD 295,000 in discrimination case in america

Abrai gets job, USD 295,000 in discrimination case in america

Washington/(America)-
, - Six years after he was denied
prison guard's job in California as he refused to shave off
his beard required by his Sikh religion, an Indian-American
has finally been appointed as a correctional officer in the
prison and won USD 295,000 in damages.
Trilochan Singh Abrai, 63, has reached a settlement in
this regard with the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a result of which he would start his
duty as a correctional officer from November 1.
"Abrai's legal battle exemplifies the challenges many
Sikhs face in the US in seeking private and government
employment after 9/11, as widespread ignorance, prejudice and
hate pose serious challenges to equal opportunity for South
Asians, and particularly Sikh Americans, who are often
mistaken for Middle Eastern terrorists," said attorney Harmeet
Kaur Dhillo, who represented Aberai.
In 2005, Oberoi applied for a position as a correctional
officer with the CDCR, according to a statement issued today.
aberai advanced to the final stage of the application
process, which involved being fit-tested with a particular
model of tight-fitting respirator mask, and was told that he
could not take the test unless he were to shave off his beard.
abrai requested that the CDCR accommodate his
religiously mandated beard, but was not granted such an
accommodation and was not hired by the CDCR in any capacity.
After making numerous attempts over the next year to
ascertain the status of his accommodation request, in February
2007, he filed an appeal with the California State Personnel
Board (SPB) concerning the CDCR's denial of his opportunity to
complete the correctional officer application because of his
religiously-mandated beard.
US-SIKH 2LAST
After a two-day trial in June 2008, the SPB issued a
decision and order in November 2008, finding that the CDCR had
discriminated against Abrai by failing to make any effort to
accommodate his religiously-mandated beard, failing to
consider any alternatives to a tight-fitting respirator, and
failing to demonstrate any resulting undue hardship to the
CDCR were it to provide Oberoi a reasonable accommodation.
But this was not the end of it as the CDCR ignored the
court order and refused to hire Abrai as a peace officer, or
in any capacity. As a result tarlochan Abrai was forced to litigate
against the CDCR to enforce his civil rights.
On July 31, 2009, Dhillon || Chr(38) || Smith filed a complaint in
the Sacramento County Superior Court, alleging religious
discrimination.
In August 2011, the CDCR finally accepted Abrai's
long-standing offer to engage in settlement communications. It
agreed to hire him as Staff Services Manager I in the CDCR's
Regulation and Policy Management Branch, effective November 1.
The CDCR also agreed to make payment to Abrai and his
counsel of USD 295,000.
"I am very happy that I will finally get the chance to
serve my community in law enforcement by working for the CDCR.
It was a long battle, but ultimately the CDCR recognised that
hiring me was the right thing to do," Abrai said.
"No American should have to choose between his or her
faith (Dharam) and a job – and this is particularly so when the
employer is our own state government. We are troubled that it
took four years of litigation, and six years of waiting, in
order to get Abrai a job at the CDCR," said harmeet Kaur.
- (This Report is, under colleboration, with Jalandhar media times)