Push for Nonuniform Policy on Uniforms

Cite Religious Issues

Push for Nonuniform Policy on Uniforms 

More than a hundred Sikhs and several immigration advocacy groups gathered on the steps of City Hall Nov. 17 in support of the City Council Uniformed Agency Anti-Discrimination Bill.

The measure would amend the city's Administrative Code by precluding all uniformed agencies from mandating that their employees comply with a uniform code that would require individuals to forego a religious practice such as wearing a turban.

See Pitfalls

The administration contended at last week's Council hearing that the measure, Intro. 577, is too broad and may create safety problems, since it doesn't include an agency review process.

The legislation, introduced by Councilman David I. Weprin in February, has the support of 24 Council Members, two votes short of the majority required to override a potential mayoral veto.

The issue has long been a matter of contention in the Police Department and at New York City Transit. The NYPD. fired two Sikh Traffic Enforcement Agents for not complying with the department's dress code. They were reinstated after an Administrative Law Judge determined that the policy violated the officers' civil rights.

"The NYPD. hasn't allowed Sikhs to be full Police Officers yet," noted Amardeep Singh, the legal director of the Sikh Coalition. He pointed out that turban-wearing Sikhs are currently fighting side by side with American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the British army. "If a Sikh can die with American troops in Iraq, why can't they be a Police Officer in New York City? It doesn't make any sense."

The measure would not cover NYC. Transit employees, but "it would create an automatic win" for a transit worker who filed a complaint with the city's Human Rights Commission, Mr. Singh said.

The agency presently requires its Sikh and Muslim employees to wear a corporate logo on their turbans. A. group of five Sikh NYC. Transit employees have charged that requirement amounts to religious discrimination. They filed a complaint against the agency with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in July.

'Embrace Diversity'

"As John F. Kennedy once said, we must 'make the world safe for diversity,''' remarked Mr. Weprin, who chairs the Council's Finance Committee. "That, I. believe, is the purpose of this legislation and larger task of this City Council."

"Our city agencies should have uniform policies that reflect the city's diversity, rather than rejecting it," Mr. Singh asserted. "There is nothing about a turban or a hijab that stops one from being a great Police Officer."