WEB DESK
A Sikh doctor in the US, Jaswinder Pal Singh, has filed a lawsuit against an American medical organisation alleging he was denied a neurology job for his religious appearance.
Though the recruiter praised Singh’s credentials in phone interviews, Singh was allegedly abruptly denied further interviews after he submitted photographs of himself, along with additional information on Sikhs and Sikhism.
The lawsuit seeks to secure a court order requiring that both defendants, the employer Premier Medical Group and its recruiter Arthur Marshall Inc, implement anti-discrimination policies, practices and training to ensure that they do not discriminate against any future applicants.
A sikh advocacy group, The Sikh Coalition said, ‘The practice of requesting photographs in the hiring process is widely disapproved of by employment law experts and human resources professionals alike, as it opens the door to discrimination based on protected traits like race, color, national origin and religion.’
This group which represents Dr. Singh filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2015.
After the EEOC issued a right to sue notice, they have now filed an anti-discrimination lawsuit against the employer, Premier Medical Group, and its recruiter, Arthur Marshall, on behalf of Dr. Singh on December 27th, 2016.