Lobbying with Dan Burton

Hurrying along the white marble halls of the House Office building, we passed an extravagant fountain as well as a number of carved oak doors with columns prodigiously perched on either side. I couldn’t help but worry about the tax-payers money. That thought was quickly forgotten as Jasjit and I saw a familiar face among the impressive surroundings. Sikh Coalition’s Rajdeep Singh Jolly awaited us by Congressman Dan Burton’s office. We were here to lobby for the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). Lobbying is similar to a sports game. There is a game plan, there are key players and the end goal is to win. The only difference is the outcome will affect millions of Americans. So there we stood outside the big oak doors, SALDEF and Sikh Coalition, huddled in our team circle preparing to go out and win it. Gaining Congressman Burton’s vote on the bill was equivalent to a field goal, his sponsoring and agreeing to lead WRFA was more of a touchdown. Essentially WRFA came about due to a loophole in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act required employers to provide a reasonable accommodation for their employees’ religious beliefs, practices, and observances unless it would pose an undue hardship. Turns out a lot of employers thought a lot of things were undue hardships. The Supreme Court addressed the issue in 1977 stating anything more than a de minimis cost, and even the possibility of an adverse impact was sufficient to claim an undue burden. The phrasing of the Civil Rights Act and the Supreme Court decision essentially results in Americans having to choose between practicing their religion and keeping their jobs. WRFA aims to fix this issue by creating a comprehensive protection of workplace freedom, eliminating unfair loopholes. Representative Burton was the man we were trying to draft onto the team. A lot of statistics and facts were spewed back and forth as the logistics and timing of the bill was discussed. As the big dogs discussed the Act I felt fortunate to be a bench warmer witnessing history in the making with a front row seat. As we exited down the steps onto Independence Avenue the outcome of the meeting was up in the air. Whether we had scored a touchdown was yet to be determined but one thing was for sure the Sikh voice had been heard and it was wearing the same uniform. – Dilroop Kaur