Disney allows Sikh worker to show turban and uncut beard

A Sikh postman at Disney World, who claimed that he was kept out of sight because of his turban and beard, has won a significant battle against the Florida-based theme park to stop this “religious discrimination”.

That changed Thursday after Disney responded to pressure from rights groups to stop segregating Singh, a religious Sikh who wore a turban and kept a beard, which Disney originally said violated the company’s “look policy”, Bay News 9 reported.

The company only started allowing workers to grow beards in 2012, but the beards have to be neatly trimmed. These articles of faith serve as external visual reminders that Mr. Singh has committed himself to the values of truthfulness, courage, service, and love.

The ACLU thanked Disney in a statement.

Disney’s headwear guidelines say that non-costumed cast members may wear “hats made of natural materials…with a small brim for protection from the sun”. The ACLU and Sikh Coalition disclosed this week that Disney had agreed that Singh now would be allowed to deliver on routes in view of the public, as all other postal workers do. Its policies also say “reasonable accommodations are provided…for sincerely-held religious beliefs”.

The ACLU said that meant Singh was relegated to a mail route with a greater workload than others. Other post workers, he said, are rotated through different routes where they can be seen by the public.

“Sikhs are religiously mandated to maintain unshorn hair – covered with a turban – and full beards”, said Gurjot Kaur, a Sikh Coalition attorney, in an email.

Singh didn’t take up the position, but applied again in 2008, initially to work as a doorman.

Mr Singh told the BBC: “My hope is that this policy change opens up the door for more Sikhs and other religious minorities to practise their faith freely here at Disney”.

Disney has not commented on the latest development in his case but the entertainment giant has said that it does not discriminate on the grounds of religion.

“Because Disney is a major multinational corporation, its decision to grant Mr Singh a religious accommodation is an important step forward in achieving workplace equality for Sikhs and others of minority faiths, and Disney should be applauded”.