Know Your Rights

Knowing your rights is one of the most important steps you can take as an American to protect yourself from unfair treatment. The sections below will help you learn about your rights as they relate to Employment Discrimination, Hate Crimes, Airport Screening and Passport Photographs. Additionally you will find a list of government agencies have been established to protect your civil rights under both state and federal law.

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—a federal government agency—it is illegal for employers to discriminate against you because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age.¹ An employer is required to reasonably accommodate your religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.² If you believe that your rights have been violated in the workplace, you may file a charge of employment discrimination with the EEOC; however, this generally must be done within 180 days from the date of the violation in order for you to protect your legal rights.³ If you suspect that you have been the victim of employment discrimination, contact SALDEF as soon as possible so that we can put you in touch with your nearest EEOC office.

RESOURCES

Workplace Rights of Sikhs under the Equal Employment Opportunity Laws
Employer Responsibilities Concerning the Employment of Sikhs
Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
Filing a Charge of Employment Discrimination
Punjabi Workplace Discrimination Fact Sheet

HATE CRIMES

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a hate crime can be defined as a traditional criminal offense with an added element of bias.⁴ Federal law currently defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.”⁵

Examples of hate crimes may include:

* Threats made in person or over the telephone, internet, and mail
* Destruction or vandalism of property, including homes, businesses, and places of worship;
* Acts of physical violence, including minor assaults and assaults leading to injury or death⁶

If you believe that you have been the victim of a crime, please seek safety and notify your local police department immediately. Be sure to document an incident as soon as possible after it occurs by writing down every relevant detail, including the names and phone numbers of witnesses, and taking photographs of any injuries or property damage that you have suffered. If you believe that you suffered a hate crime, please contact SALDEF as soon as possible so that we can put you in touch with your nearest FBI office.

RESOURCES

Personal Safety Tips from the Los Angeles Police Department
How to Report a Crime
Punjabi Brochure on Hate Crimes Prevention
What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of a Crime
Crime Victim Compensation
Hate Crime Laws In Your State

AIRPORT SCREENING

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—a federal agency—all travelers have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on account of race, national origin, age, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.⁷ If you are subjected to discrimination or other mistreatment, please note down all details of the incident, including the names of airport personnel, the date and time of the incident, the name of the airline carrier on which you were flying, the name of the airport, and a summary of what happened.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to wear a turban at all times during the airport screening process.⁸ Please notify SALDEF immediately if someone asks you to remove your turban.

Even if you do not set off a metal detector, current TSA policy allows for the possibility of additional screening of religious clothing that is “loose fitting or large enough to hide prohibited items.”⁹ If you are randomly selected for additional screening, you have the right to choose from several screening options, including whole body imaging (if available) and a self pat-down of your turban. If removal of your turban becomes necessary because of unresolved security concerns, you have the right to undergo such screening in a private area.¹⁰

TSA does not currently allow kirpans to be worn beyond the security area.¹¹ Such items may be stored in checked baggage. A list of permitted and prohibited items can be found here.

FILE A COMPLAINT

File a complaint with TSA
Send an email complaint to TSA

PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPHS

According to the U.S. Department of State—a federal government agency—religious headcoverings, including dastaars and patkas, may be worn in passport photographs.¹² Even still, you must submit a signed statement with your passport application verifying that the headcovering is worn daily for religious reasons.¹³

RESOURCES

Sample verification letter for yourself
Sample verification letter for young children
Common Sikh American Head Coverings

STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

Numerous government agencies have been established throughout the United States to protect your civil rights under both state and federal law. Please contact SALDEF if you need assistance getting in touch with any of the representative agencies linked below. As a general rule of thumb, if you believe that you have suffered any kind of discrimination, you should contact the appropriate agency as soon as possible to preserve your legal rights.

FEDERAL AGENCIES

Roadmap for Filing a Complaint With a Federal Agency

STATE AGENCIES

SELECTED LOCAL AGENCIES

• Atlanta, GA – Human Relations Commission
• Bakersfield, CA – Kern County Human Relations Commission
• Boston, MA – Human Rights Commission
• Chicago, IL – Human Relations Commission
• Fremont, CA – Human Relations Commission
• Irvine, CA – Orange County Human Relations
• Los Angeles, CA – Human Relations Commission
• New York, NY – Commission on Human Rights
• Rockville, MD – Montgomery County Office of Human Rights
• San Francisco, CA – Human Rights Commission
• Washington, DC – Office of Human Rights

Notes
¹U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Discriminatory Practices
²U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Religious Discrimination
³ U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Filing a Charge of Employment Discrimination
⁴Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hate Crime – Overview
⁵Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, 28 U.S.C. 534
⁶ U.S. Department of Justice, Enforcement and Outreach Following the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
⁷Transportation Security Administration, Passenger Civil Rights
⁸Transportation Security Administration, Security Screening of Head Coverings
⁹Transportation Security Administration, Religious and Cultural Needs
¹⁰Transportation Security Administration, Security Screening of Head Coverings
¹¹Transportation Security Administration, Religious and Cultural Needs
¹²U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Frequently Asked Questions
¹³U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Frequently Asked Questions