UPS sued for demanding Muslim shave beard
Sweden's Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, DO) has filed a lawsuit against parcel delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS) after the company dismissed a Muslim driver who refused to shave his beard.
In a lawsuit filed with Sweden's Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen) on Monday, the ombudsman argued that the company should pay the man, a resident of Spånga northest of Stockholm, 150,000 kronor ($23,000) in compensation plus 42,000 kronor in lost income, as well as interest on both amounts.
"The rule has no legitimate purpose and is not appropriate and necessary," wrote Anders Wilhelmsson, the ombudsman office lawyer representing the man, in the filing.
The man was employed in June 2010 by the Uniflex staffing company, which intended to subcontract him to UPS as a driver. The contract was to last through the summer until August 31st, but the stated aim was a permanent position with UPS if all went well, according to DO.
During the recruitment process, the man was informed that UPS had a uniform policy under which drivers were not allowed to have beards. During the recruitment process, no one asked if he was prepared to shave his beard.
In addition, his beard growth was very minimal. As such, he believed his beard would not be a problem.
The man began his employment at UPS on June 7th, 2010. The first week was devoted to training. During that time, no one remarked about his beard, according to the lawsuit.
However, the following Monday just before his first run, his immediate supervisor told him he had to shave the beard the next day.
Since there were other colleagues in the vicinity, the man waited until the afternoon to speak to his supervisor again, but was nevertheless unable to make contact with his boss until the following morning.
The man told his supervisor that he was a Muslim and it was against his religious convictions to shave his beard.
The supervisor said it sounded strange to him because there were other Muslims at UPS who had shaved their beards, reiterating the policy was in place so that drivers would look clean and neat and that a beard was unacceptable.
According to the lawsuit, the man explained that there are different interpretations of Islam. He asked if it was possible to grant him an exemption since he had religious reasons and it was not a large beard.
The supervisor said he would discuss the issue with human resources and get back to him. At the end of the workday, the man was told by another manager that UPS stood by its policy and the company could not make any exceptions.
The man emphasised that it was a difficult decision for him because he wanted to remain at UPS, but that he had thought through the whole situation carefully and stood behind his stance.
The manager then informed the man that his contract would be terminated and asked him to return his uniform. Since the man's position at Uniflex was dependent on the contract, he also lost his job at Uniflex the following day.
The ombudsman argued in its lawsuit that the company's ban on beards was difficult to fulfill as it touched on decisions based on one's religion or beliefs.
As such, the man was disadvantaged by the application of an ostensibly neutral rule that could specifically discriminate against people with religious beliefs.
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Local Sweden Democrat: 'ban' practicing Muslims
A local politician from the far-right Sweden Democrats argued during an election debate on Thursday that Muslims shouldn't be allowed to practice their faith in Strömsund in northwestern Sweden.
"I don't think someone should be allowed to be a practicing Muslim in Strömsund," Sweden Democrat Mikael Säbom said on Thursday during a live election debate broadcast on Sveriges Radio Jämtland.
Since 2006, the town of just over 4,000 residents has taken in scores of Muslims from Uzbekistan in the wake of a 2005 crackdown by Uzbek government troops in Andijan in which hundreds of protesters were killed, although the exact number of casualties remains in dispute.
At the time of the incident, known as the Andijan massacre, the Uzbek government claimed the demonstrations were organized by the Islamic radicals.
Strömsund has seen a rise in hate crimes, from racist graffiti to the burning down of a mosque in the city two years ago.
Säbom, who stands at the top of the Sweden Democrats' list of candidates for election to the local council, later refused to elaborate on his comments when approached by the newspaper.
A spokesperson from the Sweden Democrats headquarters in Stockholm claimed that Säbon's comments had been "misinterpreted", but added that the party stands behind the politician's argument.
One of Strömsund's estimated 150 practicing Muslims who wished to remain anonymous told Aftonbladet he's "very worried" about the Sweden Democrats gaining seats in the Riksdag.
The party's number two candidate in Strömsund, Peter Dahlsted, nevertheless remained upbeat about the Sweden Democrats' prospects, claiming that the influx of Muslims from Uzbekistan was a major driver for growth in the party's support locally.
"Many come up to us and dare to say what they think," he told Aftonbladet.
"It mostly has to do with the Uzbeks; that they're disruptive in one way or another."
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School refuses to enrol student with Arabic name
A 13-year-old female student has submitted a complaint to the Discrimination Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, DO), charging that a school refused to enrol her because of her Arabic-sounding name.
On June 10th, the day schools closed, the girl applied to Husbygårdsskolan in Kista northwest of Stockholm for the next semester, she wrote in a notification dated July 2nd.
The following day, her mother, a co-complainant, received a message from a school secretary, saying that there were no more places at the school and that the application was rejected.
The secretary then asked if the school should rip up the application and the student's mother, unaware of the consequences, said yes.
Suspicious, a week later on June 18th, the subject's older sister called the principal, claiming to be a Swedish woman named "Annelie" seeking a spot for her son "Johan," who was the same age as her, or about to enter grade eight.
"The headmaster became totally lyrical and implored that 'Annelie' make contact with the school secretary in charge of the admission process as soon as possible," wrote the complainant. "The principal said that there was room at the school and closed the conversation by saying, 'See you in the fall.'"
The girl's sister called and again pretended to be "Annelie," this time for the secretary at the invitation of the rector.
"[Blacked out] was also very happy about 'Annelies'' and 'Johan's' interest in the school and assured that there were places before the autumn holidays for grade eight because they had reorganised the school to create a large grade eight class from two former grade seven classes," the complainant wrote.
According to the notice, the secretary offerd to pick "Annelie" up along the way and guide her around the school so that she could see the school buildings.
Two minutes later, after ending the call, the child's mother called using her own Arabic name and asked if there was space since her request was previously denied.
The secretary allegedly replied "rather angrily" that "there was no place, that it was full, that there was a lack of space." Instead, the mother was offered to return later in the autumn if the situation changed, but everything was full.
"I, my mother and my sister, as well as our whole family was deeply offended by this treatment and want the Discrimination Ombudsman to act speedily to defend our rights and help us obtain redress," the complainant wrote.
The girl attached transcripts of the phone calls made on June 18th to her complaint, adding that the Office for Equal Rights (Byrån för Lika Rättigheter) had the original audio files.
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