Buffalo probe results in UPS paying $4.9M over religious discrimination

United Parcel Service will pay $4.9 million over claims that it discriminated against employees who wore their hair certain ways for religious purposes.

The delivery company's uniform policy requires male employees who come into contact with customers to keep their beards and hair cut above collar length. Since at least 2015, workers whose religious beliefs required them to wear their hair or beards longer than that were passed over for jobs and promotions, and relegated to "back-of-the-facility" positions in non-supervisory roles without customer contact, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

The policy unfairly discriminated against Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Rastafarians, Nazarites, Israelites and other religious groups, preventing them from advancing in the company or being provided equal opportunity for employment, the agency said.

Bilal Abdullah of Rochester filed a discrimination charge in 2015 with the EEOC's Buffalo office, which then conducted a nationwide investigation that resulted in the lawsuit.

Read more: https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/23/buffalo-probe-results-in-ups-paying-4-9-million-over-religious-discrimination/