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New California Law Protects Religious Attire at Work

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill over the weekend that requires California employers to accommodate religious attire of employees.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that requires California employers to accomodate employees' religious attire and clarifies requirements for employers to ensure there is no job discrimination, according to an article posted Sunday on ABC7.com.

The new law may help the case of a Muslim woman who sued Disneyland last month claiming she was fired from a hostess position after refusing to remove her head scarf, the article stated.

A similar incident also reportedly occurred on the Peninsula. Last year, a Foster City woman Abercrombie & Fitch for , saying she was “completely shocked” when she lost her job after she had been working at a retail store at the  for four months. 

"Assembly Bill 1964 makes very clear that a dress code that is imposed by an employer must still accommodate religious attire. And so, so long as there is no undue hardship imposed on the employer, they are going to need to say you can wear that head scarf and you can wear that turban," said Zahra Billoo-Cair, Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Bay Area chapter.

Brown was joined by several members of the Sikh community wearing turbans and head scarves for the bill signing ceremony over the weekend, according to ABC7.com.

 

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Bren May 19, 2013 at 06:49 pm
I see that I meant to type "...that connect us to the past," but I accidentally typedRead More "...and connect us to the past." I think my meaning came through, though. Yes, the world does not need another national chain retail store or restaurant, which is surely what they're planning to put in there.
CP May 19, 2013 at 02:22 pm
Yes Bren, agree with you....good point.....really what it seems to come down to is money vs. theRead More good of the community and richness of traditions. And all despite the Master Plan for that site in San Mateo that seems to require an ice skating rink or similar recreational facility AT THAT SITE, and all despite the fact the Ice Chalet would like to continue operations there. The Developer has made it difficult to impossible for any ice rink to operate there (tricky it seems)....so they can get a cookie cutter retail outlet in ? .....very, very sad for the youth of the community.
Bren May 17, 2013 at 10:09 am
I think the issue is much larger than whether children will experience stress. That ice rink is aRead More local institution, dating back at least to when Fashion Island was there. It's terrible for communities to lose so many landmarks and connect us to the past.
Anita Reimann April 29, 2013 at 11:43 am
Dear Ari, Thank you for your service to our community. It's wonderful that you are already making aRead More difference.