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Nov 19, 2016

SIKH TRUCKERS DISCRIMINATED * USA: They reach settlement in faith case

* California - Sikh truckers reach a $260,000 settlement from J.B.Hunt T. S. Inc
--- The trucker with the long white beard and turban faced a dilemma over work he desperately needed that would require him to violate the tenets of his Sikh religion by cutting hair that had never been cropped... It wasn’t about the way Lakhbir Singh looked that was an issue — it was just a clipping for a drug test. When he refused to go against one of Sikhism’s five articles of faith, he lost the job... Singh was one of four Sikh truckers from California who will split a $260,000 settlement from J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. to resolve discrimination charges, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday... The trucking company failed to provide a religious accommodation by offering an alternative to Singh and two other men who refused to provide hair clippings for drug testing samples and to a fourth man who wouldn’t remove his turban before providing a urine sample for testing, the EEOC said... 
(Photo by Simran Kaur/The Sikh Coalition via AP - This May 12, 2015, photo provided by the Sikh Coalition shows Lakhbir Singh, one of the four truckers in the case against J.B.)  --   Los Angeles, CAL, USA - AP/The Seattle Times, by BRIAN MELLEY - November 15, 2016


 * California - SIKH TRUCKERS REACH SETTLEMENT IN FAITH DISCRIMINATION CASE

--- Lakhbir Singh was one of four Sikh truckers from California who will split a $260,000 settlement from J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. to resolve discrimination charges, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday... The trucking company failed to provide a religious accommodation by offering an alternative to Singh and two other men who refused to provide hair clippings for drug testing samples and to a fourth man who wouldn’t remove his turban before providing a urine sample for testing, the EEOC said... Observant Sikhs never cut their hair and wear turbans in public at all times. It is considered shameful and humiliating to remove a turban in public, said Harsimran Kaur, legal director for The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights group that represented the men in the complaint... 
(The Sikh Coalition, the Associated Press - From left: Lakhbir Singh, Palwinder Singh and Jagtar Singh Anandpuri. They are three of the four truck drivers who complained about religious discrimination at the J.B. Hunt trucking company)  --   Los Angeles, CAL, USA - - AP/The Birmingham Times, by Brian Melley - November 16, 2016

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Feb 25, 2011

DISCRIMINATION * Canada - Refusing to interview woman nets Quebec trucking company $10K fine

Montreal,QUE,CAN -Truck News -Feb 22, 2011: -- A Quebec trucking company has been ordered to pay $10,000 after refusing to consider hiring a female truck driver because of her sex...  Bernard Wolinsky, owner of Laurentian Shavings Products and Lanjay Peat Moss, was found guilty of hiring discrimination by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal after telling a prospective hire that women have too much difficulty removing snow from the trailers...  According to evidence heard by the Tribunal, Wolinsky told the woman "We don't take women here. It's very difficult for a woman to remove the snow from the roof of the trailers".  He then told a Commission investigator who notified him of the complaint: "I don't hire women, it is my prerogative" ...  The Tribunal found the woman applicant's right to be treated with equality and dignity had been compromised. She was awarded $7,000 in moral damages and $3,000 in punitive damages...

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May 21, 2009

Discrimination * USA - OOIDA member sues New Mexico troopers for racial profiling

Looking around the port of entry office, most of the other drivers were black

Lordsburg,NM,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -May 20, 2009: -- Looking around the port of entry office, Curtis Blackwell noticed something common among the drivers waiting to talk to officers at the Port of Entry in Lordsburg, NM... Like him, most of the other drivers were black... Blackwell had been placed out of service for 24 hours after police found unopened beer and liquor in his truck’s tool box accessible from outside the truck. The officer accused him of being on drugs, and made him go through a series of sobriety tests on that mid-August day in 2008... Blackwell – a veteran of the road for more than 40 years – said tension between truckers and officers at the Port of Entry was palpable... Blackwell filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division in early May. The suit names three state troopers for allegedly targeting commercial vehicles driven by black drivers for inspections, searches and detentions in Lordsburg... The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New Mexico, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, the removal of an alcohol citation from Blackwell’s record, and a declaration that the citation is unconstitutional... Blackwell, who began his trucking career in 1967, hopes the lawsuit will remove the citation from his record and reimburse him for increased insurance expenses since the violation... More importantly, Blackwell says, he hopes the lawsuit will protect drivers from discrimination in the future, at least at the Lordsburg Port of Entry... (Photo from mike-snook: New Mexico State)

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May 16, 2009

DRIVERS' TROUBLES * UK - Northern Ireland drivers face discrimination

Police officers in the UK appear to be discriminating against drivers from Northern Ireland in an aspect of the new fixed penalty scheme, according to the Road Haulage Association

Belfast,North Ireland,UK -HGV -15 May 2009: -- ... Under the new scheme, enforcement officers can require payment if they have grounds to suppose that the driver may not have a permanent UK address. Normally, for a UK driver, showing his driving licence is accepted as evidence and he is given additional time to pay, to complain about the fixed penalty, or to decide to go to court... But while the licence details can be quickly checked in respect of addresses in England, Scotland or Wales, no such check is available in respect of Northern Ireland when they come to the mainland. "There is one regulation on fixed penalties in respect of UK drivers but there appears to be two enforcement policies in respect of proof of address," RHA director of policy Jack Semple says...(Picture from nickmiller.ie: "Figure to Ground". )

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Sep 6, 2007

Crackdown * USA - Intensifying on truckers who can't speak English


Interstate truck and bus drivers across America may find themselves pulled off the highway if state troopers or vehicle inspectors find they can't speak English.


Harlingen,TX,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker -4 Sept 2007: -- The requirement has been on the books for decades, but enforcement has begun before Mexican trucks are allowed in the U.S. interior as of Sept. 6... Jose Mendoza, a 25-year-old driver in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, said that it seemed the United State authorities were always coming up with new ways to stop Mexican trucks from traveling beyond the border... He said the drivers felt discriminated against, and that U.S. officials were looking for any pretext to fine them... Rigoberto Castañeda, who has been driving for 17 years, agreed that the biggest obstacle the truckers faced was discrimination... So did Primitivo Gonzalez, owner of a small trucking company...

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Jan 30, 2007

Discrimination * USA - Rhode Island bill attempts to curb racial profiling

Bill supporters say statistics show that minorities continue to face a disproportionate number of traffic stops

Grain Valley,MO,USA - Land Line Magazine /Associated Press -Jan 29, 2007: -- A legislative effort in the Rhode Island General Assembly is intended to prevent racial profiling by law enforcement officers during traffic stops. It is also designed to protect immigrants and juveniles... The legislation is in response to incidents during the past year that supporters contend were racially motivated... The legislation would prohibit police from asking passengers of vehicles for identification after traffic stops... Officers also would be barred from asking about immigration status, except in certain circumstances... Officers would be prohibited from using minor traffic violations as a pretext for stopping vehicles for other reasons... Police also would be prevented from inquiring about someone’s immigration status or demanding documentation when stopped for minor traffic violations...

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