Megacarrier J.B. Hunt will pay $260,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against it by four truckers. It was an anti-discrimination lawsuit brought by four Sikh drivers who claim that they were discriminated against due to their religious beliefs because of the company’s drug testing policies.
The lawsuit was filed after three of the truckers were required to submit to hair testing, and another was asked to remove his turban before providing a urine test. The Sikh Coalition, who represented the truckers, explained that observant Sikhs do not cut their hair and always wear turbans in public places.
“It’s absolutely a challenge for observant Sikhs to maintain unshorn hair,” said the legal director of The Sikh Coalition. “The importance of this settlement is that it sends a message to employers that even drug testing regimens do not fall outside the purview of the federal anti-discrimination law. Employers can’t proffer safety as a blanket justification to discriminate.”
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Coalition (EEOC), by refusing to accommodate the religious beliefs of the truckers, the carrier violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
As part of the settlement which was approved by the EEOC, J.B. Hunt will pay the four drivers $260,000, revise their policies, and allow drivers an alternative to drug testing by hair sample when required. Additionally, the drivers have received a conditional offer of employment from the carrier.
According to The Sikh Coalition none of the four drivers are seeking employment with J.B. Hunt at this time.
I agree an alternate test should have been offered but the turban has to come off during urine drug testing. It is not public; it is my safety your safety and the safety of the company at risk if rules aren’t followed. It’s about public safety. Surely they would agree if it were me posing the issue.
Safety ???? Oh sure…
Non Americans? Who are you to say these men are not Americans? Last I checked we had religious freedom in this country. Wake up and realize that your intolerance to people who don’t look like, act like, worship like you etc. Is the problem. That and your willingness to be controlled by “the powers that shouldn’t be” so long your masters tell you it’s in the name of “safety.”
Don’t be a boiling frog! (Look it up if you don’t understand the reference) and more importantly, stop the racism and bigotry toward your fellow humans. We are all people. Let’s act like it.
I agree with you Informed Driver to a certain extent. But let’s not make exemptions just because of your religion. If they don’t want to submit to the drug tests that other truck drivers have to submit to, then they should not be truck drivers. How hard is that to figure out. Example. If your religion prohibits you from consuming any type of alcohol, then that includes hauling it. Then don’t go apply for a job at your local beer distributor. Got to draw the line somewhere and stop making certain people special.
Excellent point, they knew a drug test was involved.
These are most often listed on the application and the web site,
and anyone going into the industry would know that.
Does this mean people of certain religions can use drugs and drive or fly,, because they practice keeping their head covered ?
If their religion endangers others safety then it also violates the civil rights of the majority,
for all we know they did this looking for a pay out .
They didnt take the job offer……..
Who said the didn’t want to submit to the drug test? English comprehension is a hell of a thing!
Yeh, you are free to worship anyone, thing or animal that you want BUT we also have separation of church and state. So while you are free to whorship and believe, when you go into a company and seek employment, then you must follow ALL of the same rules and regulations that are placed on everyone else and as long as those rules are applied in a uniform manner then I don’t care about their religion. If everyone is held to the same standard during the drug testing then so be it. It is not religious freedom to insist that you not be held to the standard. Also, I am not a stripper because I do not want to take my clothes off in public so sought employment elsewhere. If the requirement is that you remove your turbine and allow a hair sample and you don’t want to do that, then go seek employment that does not require that of you. My 2 cents worth.
I agree that certain people should not have special exemption from rules while others do not, however my main problem with this story is the hair testing. And I don’t want to hear the “nothing to hide nothing to fear” argument. To those who would choose that line of argument I ask would you then allow big brother gov. to follow you with camera done 24/7? Nothing to hide right? First, Many religions require their observers to not cut their hair, this is clearly a violation of that religious observance. Secondly, and much more importantly, hair testing is inherently discriminatory. Certain types of hair retain retain chemical “markers”(metabolites) differently. Thick dark hair for example holds onto these metabolites longer, while often growing at a slower rate. This means that a person with such hair will show these metabolites far more often and far longer than say thin grey or blonde hair. What for one person may constitute 6 months of history another may be 9 etc. The science of hair testing is not equal for all people. Unless and until the science improves, it should not be accepted as a testing method.
Do you have to take off your cap to urinate? DOT does not require hair.
I agree Frank. I’m not a bigot, but if I am subjected to rules to have a commercial drivers license, then EVERY driver should abide by the same rules. I also am tired of exemptions for people who are “not like us”. If you know the rules and your beliefs do not allow you to conform to those rules, find another line of work. Pretty damn simple to me!
I understand where you’re coming from, and I agree and myself practice that philosophy by refusing to work for a company that wishes to further the invasion of privacy, but your argument sound like “if my rights and privacy are going to be trampled on them yours should be too!”
I think we need more people standing up for our rights not less. Otherwise we all become the boiling frogs.
Ditto, plane and simple!
Hair follicle testing is not required as per the DOT regulations
Whose rule is it that they have to remove their turbans?
Nope, it is not BUT if JB does it to all of their drivers then these four gentlemen had the choice to participate or go elsewhere for employment.
That is an ignorant comment. There are thousands of Sikhs who are Americans. Sikhs are Christians not foreigners.
So called Christians opened the pandora box claiming for everything religious freedom that now allows everybody to do the same
I think this is bull. It is procedure that they submit to Federal Drug Testing policy guidelines. But hair follicle testing is not required for truck drivers as per the DOT regulations.
Drug testing is against my religion!
Only in America could that fly. This is some P.C. nonsense but I do like the push-back against invasion of our privacy.
You can be a straight-up alcoholic and be fine but smoke a joint on the weekend and – career over. It’s absurd.
The original story as published elsewhere shows the drivers to be Sikhs, and the dude clearly should be part of a ZZ TOP tribute band.
As to urine testing, it is not clear that urine testing was offered, but should have been. If they refuse to remove the turban during the test, then a refusal would be recorded.
I am assuming the person administering the test wants the turban removed to make sure they are not hiding urine. If so, that is a whole separate issue. You can hide urine in more places than a turban…ever hear of a whizzinator? (disclaimer….my full time job is a Probation Officer. Trucking has always been an interest of mine and a career choice I wanted to pursue but never did).
If the person refused to remove the Turban….I don’t see a problem with that as the solution is simple. Observed drug test.
Stick to monitoring criminals.
When I go for a drug test, I am told to remove my cap.I wear a baseball cap because I am balding. Shall this be said it is my belief dues to baldism??
I believe it is much different. If it was me I would of done it but that is their religion there are other ways of testing for drugs. Taking people’s hair is invasive anyway. How did the trucking industry survive through the fifties sixties seventies eighties without all this nonsense. inagree with safety but there is also overboard. The courts must of agreed.
I am glad they won their case and now they have enough money to buy two trucks and team drive.