SMART’s National Director Preetmohan Singh recently conducted two congressional briefings to discuss the impact of the pending Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) on the Sikh American community. This legislation (Senate Bill 893) will require employers to reasonably accommodate the religious needs of their employees in the workplace. Typical examples covered by WRFA include allowing for religious clothing (such as turbans, yarmulkes, and head-scarves) and for flexible scheduling arrangements to facilitate holiday observances (such as agreeing to work on another holiday in order to observe Vaisakhi, the Sikh New Year). Mr. Singh conducted the briefings on Capitol Hill with leaders from the Christian, Jewish, and other civil rights organizations. If you would like to learn more about this bill, please see SMART’s Action Alert. If you would like to become more active with SMART’s legislative efforts, please email us at legislation@sikhmediwatch.org.
