MyLifeDump

My wife told me about her friend who just got booted from a job interview at Hollywood Video store in Los Gatos, CA because of her Hijab (head-scarf) which Muslim women usually wear. At first I couldn’t really understand anything and was really surprised because California as a whole is very diverse and you see girls wearing Hijab working everywhere from Starbucks to Bank of America.

I asked my wife to email her a few questions, an informal interview, to find out more about what had happened and below is the reply:

Q: How did you hear about the job, did you walk in and or apply online etc?
A: I live near Hollywood video, so I walked in one time and saw the now hiring, and I asked about it, and a worker told me to fill out an application on line, so I did that.

Q: Did the interviewer ask questions directly or indirectly about age, marital status, race, or religion?
A: In the middle of my interview she asked me about my scarf… she asked me if i was 18 or not…

Q: Was the interviewer welcoming, easy to talk to?
A: She seemed friendly

Q: Were you offered the job?
A: She told me that my availability was really good and then she told me to sign my name and date on some paper… then when I finished she said “before we go any further I want to ask you… do you have to wear that thing on your head” and I said “yes it’s a part of my religion.”

Q: What was the exact reason the interviewer gave for not hiring you?
A: Said to me “I’m sorry we don’t allow that here… it’s just not good for our environment” then I said “are you serious??… I’ve never heard of such a reason.” She asked me if there was any way I could take the scarf off… “I told her there was no way I was going to take my scarf off because it was a part of my religion. She then told me she was sorry and couldn’t give me the job but if I took off my scarf, she would give me the job! I felt that there was no point continuing with the interview any further and I left…

According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of l964, employers are prohibited from discriminating against individuals on the basis of religion. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC has a page on its website that answers concerns that are faced by Muslims, Sikhs, Arabs, and South Asians. One of the question there is:

Susan is an experienced clerical worker who wears a Hijab (head scarf)…. XYZ Temps places Susan in a long-term assignment with one of its clients. The client contacts XYZ and requests that it notify Susan that she must remove her Hijab while working at the front desk, or that XYZ assign another person to Susan’s position. According to the client, Susan’s religious attire violates its dress code and presents the “wrong image.” Should XYZ comply with its client’s request?

XYZ Temps may not comply with this client request without violating Title VII. The client would also violate Title VII if it made Susan remove her Hijab or changed her duties to keep her out of public view. Therefore, XYZ should strongly advise against this course of action. Notions about customer preference real or perceived do not establish undue hardship, so the client should make an exception to its dress code to let Susan wear her Hijab during front desk duty as a religious accommodation. If the client does not withdraw the request, XYZ should place Susan in another assignment at the same rate of pay and decline to assign another worker to the client.

Source: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/backlash-employer.html

Another question, this time, a Sikh’s turban is in question and is relevant to the concept of scarf:

I am a Sikh man and the turban that I wear is a religiously-mandated article of clothing. My supervisor tells me that my turban makes my coworkers “uncomfortable,” and has asked me to remove it. What should I do?

If a turban is religiously-mandated, you should ask your employer for a religious accommodation to wear it at work. Your employer has a legal obligation to grant your request if it does not impose a burden, or an “undue hardship,” under Title VII. Claiming that your coworkers might be “upset” or “uncomfortable” when they see your turban is not an undue hardship.

Source: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/backlash-employee.html

This case definitely falls under religious discrimination and there is no question that the interviewer rejected her on the basis of her scarf and claimed that it was “not good for the environment” which is basically like saying “we don’t want people walking into Hollywood Video to see you in your head-scarf.”

My wife’s friend has filed a complaint with CAIR but there has been no response yet. Where this goes now remains to be seen.

After a lot of consideration and out of necessity, I have decided to launch a portfolio type website that lists all the websites managed and operated by Zindah Inc.

Zindah Network lists all the websites that I (aka Zindah, Inc.) currently operate on an ongoing basis. The purpose of this portfolio type website is to basically provide people with more information on the websites I own and operate and answer other questions like how many people visit ABC website on daily basis etc.

Though not yet complete as far as traffic stats are concerned, the basic website is up and running. Soon, if interested, you will be able to buy advertising through paypal with just few clicks directly from the website information page on Zindah Network. This will save me alot of time replying to emails people send me to advertise on my websites.

Just a note here, MLD (this blog) is not part of the Zindah Network as this is my personal blog. As you can see, I don’t have any advertisers on this blog besides the Google AdSense and people I have exchanged links with. Get in touch with me if you want to advertise on this blog.

MCA Outreach Inside Islam Series presents:

Islamic Art & Architecture
Sunday, May 11th from 2pm-6pm
MCA Banquet Hall
3003 Scott Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054

The goal of the event is to show case the enduring beauty of Islamic Art in many forms, especially in callighraphy and Architecture.

Volunteers are needed to:
1. Design an artistic flier for the event
2. Help drive publicity for the event on campuses, libraries, bookstores, etc
3. Deliver a presentation on Islamic Art
4. Display their art work at the event
5. Bring Islamic Artifacts from around the world for the event

If you are interested in helping out, contact MCA Outreach Director Dian Alyan at 408.727.7277 ext 402

There is a career fair coming up on 11th April at San Francisco State University, I might attend this one as I realy have to get an accounting related job ASAP. Here are the details:

Timings: Noon-3:00 p.m
Date: 04/11/2008
Open to only SFSU students and alumni (sorry everyone else)
Professional attire is required
Bring extra resumes and be ready to interview on the spot
Employers from companies, businesses, non-profits and government agencies will be recruiting for internships and full-time positions during this one-day event.

Early admission is between 11am - Noon. To get an early admission pass you must attend SFSU career center workshop that teaches you how to work a job fair. I went to one of these workshops last year and it was very helpful. They can critique your resume, give you tips on networking with recruiters etc.

Checkout this PDF file for the list of recruiters who are attending the career fair and the academic majors they are looking for.

For Accounting related jobs and internships go to Accounting Students Forum.

I had been looking for a job for almost two months and finally have one now. This semester I am taking a break from school and I was looking for a full time job. I interviewed at 3 places, two of the jobs were directly related to accounting and I really wanted to get my foot in the door but hard luck.

I interviewed at a Target store two weeks ago for the Cashier position and was offered the job same day pending a background check and drug test. It’s been 3 days since I started and so far its been really good. Co-workers are friendly, people are nice, and the management is very helpful and committed.

Now, I really hope that I will get enough time for this blog and my other websites. I obviously won’t be working 24/7 but blogging and managing an entire network of websites is not as easy as you might think. I have few more websites and projects in line and I am excited about all of them.