The Impact of Synergy
According to Adel Syed, CAIR-LA Government Relations Coordinator, synergy means to combine individual efforts so that the result is much more than the sum of the parts. CAIR-Greater Los Angeles Area is pleased to announce that this synergy of community activism and mobilization has led to the strengthening of workplace accommodation rights for all Americans. On September 8th, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (Assembly Bill 1964) into law at a unity rally in Sacramento.
Over the past eight months, CAIR-California chapters have asked you to help advocate for this important piece of legislation. As usual, our community stepped up to the plate and surpassed that challenge. In conjunction with the Sikh Coalition and other community partners, we were able to move this piece of legislation forward with a diverse cross section of American society - one which included faith-based communities, business interests, and employee associations. Under the current federal law, an employer can potentially discriminate against an employee at a much lower threshold than at the state level. AB 1964 was designed to eliminate this loophole by specifically stating that an employer may deny a request for religious accommodation only if it imposes a "significant difficulty or expense" on the employer. The bill further prohibits employers from being able to segregate an employee based on his/her appearance. Now community members will have the freedom to wear the hijab or keep a beard, as long as their religious observance does not conflict with health or safety requirements in the workplace. Your voice helped make this happen, and for that we want to say thank you. However, the work is not done.
As we enter upon the last month before an extremely important election season, we want to ask you to ensure our community is well-represented. Here are a few things you can do to help make that happen:
1. Register to Vote - Californians can now register to vote online, please visit
here to register or check your current registration information.
2. Help ensure others in your local community are registered to vote by passing along this information and asking them to contact CAIR-LA if they have any specific questions.
3. Sponsor a candidate and proposition forum in your locality. The best way to introduce candidates to the needs of the community is opening up doors, doors to your local community center, Masjid, or any other community meeting place.
4. Introduce yourself to candidates running in your district or area. District lines have shifted for many races in California, to see if the changes affect your area please visit here .
5. Keep a look-out for the CAIR-CA voter score card which will be released in the very near future.
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