By Whitney Jones
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) AutoZone harassed a Sikh employee for wearing a turban and eventually fired him, according to a lawsuit announced Tuesday (Sept. 28) by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission.
The suit said employee Frank Mahoney-Burroughs was treated like any other employee at the store in Everett, Mass., until he converted to Sikhism.
"For years, our client was a model employee," Sandeep Kaur, a staff attorney for the Sikh Coalition said in a statement. "Things changed as soon as he converted to Sikhism and started wearing a turban. Then, AutoZone managers called him a terrorist, told him that he was offending customers and terminated him."
When customers made terrorist jokes or called Mahoney-Burroughs "Bin Laden," none of his co-workers stepped up and intervened, the EEOC claims.
"I spent more time with AutoZone staff than with my own family and friends," said Mahoney-Burroughs. "It was very painful to be humiliated and insulted by them. They made me feel as though I had no right to practice my faith."
In addition to name-calling at the auto parts store, he was not permitted to wear a turban or the kara, a religious bracelet, both of which are articles of faith for Sikhs.
In addition, when employees work together, it creates unity, raises productivity and improves the bottom line. In order to achieve these results, organizations need to develop a more diversity-friendly culture. It’s important for employers to provide employees with the tools needed through training to understands, accept, and value differences of their coworkers.
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