A former Internal Revenue Service worker in Houston has settled a federal lawsuit that alleged she was fired for insisting she be allowed to wear a three-inch Kirpan. Tagore’s battle began about a year later when she was baptized in the Sikh religion and observed its devout traditions, including wearing a kirpan, one of the […]

A former Internal Revenue Service worker in Houston has settled a federal lawsuit that alleged she was fired for insisting she be allowed to wear a three-inch Kirpan.

Tagore’s battle began about a year later when she was baptized in the Sikh religion and observed its devout traditions, including wearing a kirpan, one of the five articles of her faith.
The IRS had put her on “absence without leave” in January’06 and later on terminated for six months. She filed a case against the agency.

The district court paid no heed to her appeal justifying themselves over security issues. She re-appealed to the Fifth Circuit of Court Appeals who interestingly affirmed, reversed & remanded the ruling of the district court.

Rossbach, Deputy General Counsel for the nonprofit Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, applauded the 5th Circuit’s ruling in a statement “The court made it crystal-clear that government does not get to second-guess citizens’ religious beliefs, and it also can’t just wave the ‘security’ card around to justify bans on the core practices of any religion.”

Tagore currently works as a self-employed tax consultant.

The security overseas have agreed to educate its employees about the Kirpan’s significance. An agreement in a lawsuit has been reached stemming from the Sikh woman’s dismissal for insisting on wearing the ceremonial dagger sacred to her faith to work.

It is part of her commitment made to God. She said. “I truly believe. I’ve given submission. I was going to practice my faith until the last breath and so I was going to.”

This is a big win for religious freedom, and not just for Sikhs.

~ Source: http://sikhsiyasat.net/