Sikhs forced off the job due to City of Toronto rule that security guards can't have beards

The World Sikh Organization (WSO) is demanding the City of Toronto change what it calls a "discriminatory" rule included in its contracts requiring all security guards to be clean-shaven.

The organization said Monday it wants to see the city compensate and reinstate the 100 or so bearded Sikh guards who lost their jobs as a result.

The WSO said the city has been mandating security guards, who work for contractors like GardaWorld, ASP Security and Star World, wear N95 masks while on the job at congregate settings like respite centres since January. 

The city confirmed employees and contractors working with its Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) department must wear a N95 mask and they must be clean-shaven so the masks provide effective protection against COVID-19 transmission. However, the city said the WSO's complaint stems from private contractors failing to accommodate their own employees.

Sikh security guards have been struggling with the rule.

"I feel very humiliated," said Birkawal Singh Anand, who works for ASP Security.

Anand says he applied for a religious accommodation when he was notified of the requirement last month, but was told that would mean being relegated to a lower position with the company with lower pay as well. He said he had to choose between that, finding a different job, getting laid off, or shaving his beard. 

CBC News has reached out to ASP Security and other companies with questions about how they are implementing the city policy. 

For Sikh devotees, leaving hair uncut is an important tenet of their faith, the WSO said.

Balpreet Singh, a lawyer with the organization, said Toronto's rule feels particularly discriminatory because this policy is being brought in while almost all other pandemic restrictions have been dropped in Ontario — including most mask mandates.

"These security guards served at the height of the pandemic without these rules, when things were at their worst, Singh said.

"But now when, you know, vaccines are very common and things are opening up, they're being told: 'No, you can't serve here because you've got a beard.'"

Singh says he's repeatedly contacted the city and council members. He said he sent an official letter to the city on June 7 to "work with its security contractors to find a solution."

The City of Toronto said in an email statement that it's aware of the WSO's complaint and said all of the workers affected are employed by contractors and not its own corporate security division.