Who’s Got The Look?
WASHINGTON: The Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest and largest Sikh-American civil rights and advocacy organization in the US has filed a class action suit against the Walt Disney World Company on behalf of Sukhbir Singh Channa.
Channa, a Sikh-American, had applied for a job with Disney in September 2006 but was told that he could not be hired unless he removed his religiously-mandated turban. He was also told that he did not have “the Disney look”. Witnesses have filed affidavits in his support. “There’s no legal or other justification for a company to repudiate an employee in the manner that Disney has repudiated Channa,” said SALDEF chairman Manjit Singh.
“Disney makes millions of dollars each year on cartoon characters that wear turbans but cannot respect the right of an American to wear a turban for religious reasons,” said Manjit Singh.
This should be an interesting legal battle and could lead to big changes in the look of Cast Members at all the Disney resorts should this organization win. We’ll keep you posted on this story as more becomes available.