New York makes a Sikh wear a logo on his turban.

Now they've gone too far. New York MTA news on Reuters today.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Sikh subway driver is being forced to wear a badge on his turban or face being demoted and sent to the stock yards, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subways, told motorman Kevin Harrington to wear the MTA badge or he cannot not work with customers.

"If he wears it, he can operate in customer service areas, if not then he's relegated to yard duty," said Charles Seaton, spokesman for the MTA's Transit Authority.

"I feel wearing the patch violates my religious freedom," Harrington, 53, told The New York Daily News. "The turban is a sacred space, so it's like asking a priest to wear a logo on his vestments."

Harrington's lawyer, Amardeep Singh, said his client had always worn the turban in his 25 years on the job, but it was only after "9/11 that the agency tried to get its Sikh and Muslim employees to stop wearing their turbans and hijabs."

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in September on behalf of Harrington and several Muslim women bus drivers charging that the MTA discriminates against employees on the basis of religion.

Comments

[mtrman]

This job includes a uniform, and it is well known BEFORE you take the job that you must wear a uniform. Wear the damned badge and stop whining - a job is not an ad for your religion.

[SIKH LIONS]

I Wear a badge on my shirt, but asking a preist to wear a badge on his collar would be a very stupid thing to ask, so same goes for a sikhs turban, americans really dont seem educated.