After trying to privately appeal to Disney executives to no avail, Singh contacted the ACLU and the Sikh Coalition, a New York-based Sikh-American advocacy group, earlier this year.
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The ACLU provided a letter from Disney attorney Armando A. Rodriguez-Feo saying that it has approved Singh’s request to work “all distribution routes in the regular rotation…while wearing his turban and neatly-gathered and tied beard”. “In Sikhism, these articles remind everybody that we’re all equal”.
“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. No one should have to face daily humiliation because of his or her religious beliefs”, he said in a written statement. Gurdit Singh had been kept from public view at the amusement park, because of his beard and turban were not thought not to be in keeping with the company’s image.
Following the intervention by Sikh Coalition and ACLU, Walt Disney World finally reversed its decision and granted Singh a religious accommodation.
Disney in 2012 began allowing beards but with restrictions, including length of no more than a quarter inch.
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 company says it does not discriminate based on religion. Sikhs are required by their religion to maintain uncut hair that they must cover with a turban, and they must maintain full beards.
The ACLU said that meant Singh was relegated to a mail route with a greater workload than others.
He originally applied to work as a doorman. He was denied that position and told his “costume” didn’t match Disney’s “costume”, according to Gurjot Kaur, Singh’s lawyer from the Sikh Coalition.
Mr Singh, who has worked at the theme park since 2008 but always out of sight of visitors, said he was “incredibly thankful” Disney had chose to change course.
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“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”.
