J.B. Hunt has agreed to pay four Sikh men $260,000 in order to settle a religious discrimination complaint.
The men were asked to provide hair samples for pre-employment drug testing, but were unable to do so because their religious beliefs prohibit them from cutting their hair. When they asked for alternative methods of testing, the company refused and denied them jobs, the complaint reads.
According to Sikh faith, men are not allowed to cut their hair or remove their turbans in public.
One of the four men, Lakhbir Singh, says he offered to submit hair samples from his comb, but would not allow his hair to be clipped.
“When they declined to give me the job, it was one of the hardest times of my life. My body went numb and I had tears in my eyes,” Singh said through a translator.
Instead of fighting the case and taking it to trial, J.B. Hunt decided to settle with the drivers and pay $260,000, revise their drug testing procedures, and offer employment to the four men.
Harsimran Kaur, a representative of The Sikh Coalition, represented the four California men in the complaint. “It’s absolutely a challenge for observant Sikhs to maintain unshorn hair,” he said. “The importance of this settlement is that it sends a message to employers that even drug testing regimens do not fall outside the purview of the federal anti-discrimination law. Employers can’t proffer safety as a blanket justification to discriminate.”
Ariela Gross, a law professor at the University of Southern California, said the company had no choice to settle, because they would have likely lost in court. “Where they’re requiring them to cut a piece of their hair for drug testing it seems odd they wouldn’t accept other types of testing alternatives.” she said. “That’s what makes it seem like a relatively straightforward case.”