Baltimore: A Gursikh immigrant has won the right to an all American job at Domino’s Pizza.
Prabhjot S.Kohli 53 of Catonsville suffered religious discrimination when a local Dominos franchisee refused to hire him in 1987 as a manager in training because Kohli wouldn’t shave his beard an administrative law judge has ruled.
Judge Merry C.Hudson ordered LOOC Inc. the Timonium-based franchisee to offer Kohli the next available manager-trainee position and give him nearly $6000 in back pay. She also told the company to revise its “no-beard” policy to accommodate people whose religious beliefs prohibit shaving if they are willing to wear a beard net as Kohli was.
“This is the first case involving religious accommodation and a no-beard policy nationwide where the plaintiff has been successful” said Sally Swanna lawyer for the Maryland Human Relations Commission which brought the charges.
Kohli said he was “pleased that in this country human rights are more valuable than the foolish idols of corporate leadership who just make policy to suit their whims.”
The Dominos franchisee which has two dozen outlets in the Baltimore area wouldn’t say whether it would appeal.
“Were evaluating the decision and we don’t have a comment at this point” said Kathleen Pontone a lawyer who represented LOOC.
The Sikh religion founded in northwestern India is followed by 14 million people including 300000 in the United States. Sikh scripture prohibits the faithful from cutting their body hair. A Sikh who does so may be excommunicated. A devout Sikh also wears a turban and a small dagger on his body.
Kohlis desire to work as a Dominos manager collided with a long standing corporate no-beard policy adopted in 1978. A LOOC official told Kohli he couldn’t work for Dominos unless he shaved. Officials at Dominos headquarters in Michigan told him no exceptions could be made.
At a June 1991 hearing however a Dominos executive testified that the company can authorize exceptions according to testimony recounted in Judge Hudsons order
In addition a personnel executive with Pizza Hut Dominos chief competitor testified that he had made selective exceptions to his company’s no-beard policy.
Dominos presented results from two of its national surveys a “Beard Snood Perception Study” to show that some customers wouldn’t buy pizza from a bearded employee. A snood is a net-like covering for the beard
But the judge ruled that Dominos wouldn’t suffer under hardship or lose any competitive edge by letting Kohli manage a store if he wore a beard net. No Maryland health law requires food service employees to be clean-shaven.
Dr. Bhupinder Singh who testified in the case on behalf of the 110 families of the Sikh Association of Baltimore said that Dominos handled Kohlis application “very poorly without having consideration for the sensitivity of the issue.”
Dr. Singh a surgeon said that if he could successfully operate on patients then surely Kohli could make pizza.
Kohli immigrated from India in 1985 and works as a state highway project engineer. He said he applied to Dominos because “sales were my forte” and the company said top-flight managers could earn up to $75000 a year.
Now he is not sure he will take the job that Dominos has been ordered to offer him.
“I have stability in state government. I command respect here At my age stability is important” Kohli said.
“But this opens the door for other people. It’s good for my progeny” he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 24, 1992
