| Read the Complaint Filed in Federal Court this Week.  |
| "Bureaucratic short-sightedness and ignorance of the Sikh religion are no reason to put a unique ban on kirpans in Houston." -Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund |
January 8, 2009 - The Sikh Coalition filed suit against the federal government this week to protect a Sikh employee's right to wear her kirpan to work. The lawsuit alleges that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Protective Service (FPS) discriminated against Kawaljeet Kaur Tagore by prohibiting her from carrying a kirpan, a mandatory article of faith, on her job as a revenue agent at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston. Ms. Tagore was fired from her job in July 2006 because she refused to remove her kirpan.
"Sikhs should be entitled to work for their government, just like other Americans. In this case, the government put Ms. Tagore in the unacceptable position of choosing between her religion and her job." said Harsimran Kaur, the Sikh Coalition's Legal Director.
Kawaljeet's Lawsuit
The lawsuit claims that the government's conduct violated both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It alleges that the FPS and IRS banned the kirpan as a so-called "dangerous weapon", even though the government allows hundreds of sharp knives and box cutters in the Leland Building. Government officials banned Tagore's kirpan, sight unseen, failing to conduct any examination whatsoever of the kirpan before banning it outright.
Since 2005, the Sikh Coalition has represented Ms. Tagore in an internal complaint process related to the discrimination. The next stage in the legal process was the filing of this week's lawsuit in Houston federal district court. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty of Washington, DC and Houston civil rights attorney Scott Newar have joined the Sikh Coalition in the federal litigation.
Kirpans on the Job
"Sikhs around the world wear their kirpans while serving as government officials. Bureaucratic short-sightedness and ignorance of the Sikh religion are no reason to put a unique ban on kirpans in Houston," said Eric Rassbach, national litigation director at the Becket Fund.
Private employers have embraced accommodation of Sikh kirpans across the country.
The International Monetary Fund reversed its ban on wearing kirpans at its Washington, DC headquarters in December 2007. In October of 2007, AT&T Inc. in Ohio also reversed its workplace ban against kirpans at the urging of the Sikh Coalition.
Ms. Tagore's suit is the first kirpan case by a federal employee against the United States government.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. If someone tells you to remove your articles of faith, please report the incident.