Legal Cases & Policy Initiatives

Book bans are increasingly being used by some advocacy groups as a tool to oppose representation for specific communities and restrict classroom conversations about race, diversity, and history. Some states are trying to pass laws that will make book bans and other censorship easier, and in extreme cases, punish educators or librarians who defy them; other states, conversely, are attempting to prohibit such practices. In early 2024, the Sikh Coalition began tracking these kinds of legislation, which directly impacts our work in pushing for inclusive education and safe classrooms.

When the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) rolled out a discriminatory policy revoking all religious and medical accommodations for peace officers who maintain beards, the Sikh Coalition joined with legal and legislative allies to fight for individuals' rights and pursue broad policy change.

In November of 2020, Mr. Ravinder Singh, a Sikh paramedic working and living in Connecticut, was dismissed from American Medical Response (AMR) after he requested and was denied PPE that would accommodate his Sikh articles of faith. The Sikh Coalition filed a complaint with the EEOC, which launched a lawsuit against AMR and its associated companies in September of 2022 based on a wider pattern of discrimination.

Sikh community members' social media posts--specifically those pertaining to the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and other instances of discrimination and violence sanctioned or perpetrated by the Indian government--have been censored by social media platforms. We are calling on Meta to act with transparency and accountability on this issue.

Nirmal Singh, an elderly Sikh man visiting Queens from India, was attacked while out on a morning knock. The Sikh Coalition was retained by Mr. Singh and his son to provide free legal aid, and we engaged with the NYPD to pass along video evidence and ensure that the case is ultimately recorded as an anti-Sikh hate crime. Mr. Singh's attacker was ultimately arrested in connecting with additional assaults, and charged with several hate crime counts.

In November of 2021, with assistance from the Sikh Coalition , our pro bono co-counsel at Winston & Strawn LLP, our litigation partners at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, BakerHostetler, and the Sikh American Veterans Alliance, Jaskirat Singh submitted a request for an accommodation to serve in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with his articles of faith. In February of 2022, Mr. Singh was offered an incomplete and insufficient accommodation, including a provision that would require him to sacrifice his turban and beard while at boot camp. In December of 2022, an appellate court granted a preliminary injunction to allow Mr. Singh to proceed to Recruit Training with his articles of faith intact; he graduated from that program in August of 2023 as Private First Class (PFC) Singh.

In March of 2021, with assistance from the Sikh Coalition , our pro bono co-counsel at Winston & Strawn LLP, and our litigation partners at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Aekash Singh submitted a request for an accommodation to serve in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with his articles of faith. In February of 2021, Mr. Singh was offered an incomplete and insufficient accommodation, including a provision that would require him to sacrifice his turban and beard while at boot camp. We and our partners are currently suing the U.S. military on behalf of Mr. Singh and our additional USMC clients.

In March of 2021, with assistance from the Sikh Coalition , our pro bono co-counsel at Winston & Strawn LLP, and our litigation partners at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Milaap Singh Chahal submitted a request for an accommodation to serve in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with his articles of faith. In September of 2021, Mr. Chahal was offered an incomplete and insufficient accommodation, including a provision that would require him to sacrifice his turban and beard while at Basic Training. In December of 2022, an appellate court granted a preliminary injunction to allow Mr. Chahal to proceed to Basic Training with his articles of faith intact.