No Diversity at Autozone? Sikh Employee Fired For Wearing Turban; Sues AutoZone

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.