May 17, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1423

WASHINGTON, May 16: To prevent Sept 11-related workplace backlash, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released two new fact sheets, for employers and employees respectively, addressing frequently asked questions about the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs.

A press release issued by the commission says, EEOC field offices throughout the country had received 488 charges of workplace discrimination till May 7.

Dismissal has been alleged to be an issue in 301 of these charges, and harassment has been alleged in 194 of these charges.

States with the greatest numbers of charges filed include Texas (63), California (47), Florida (34), Illinois (34) and Arizona (30).

Even before Sept 11, EEOC was tracking the number of charges filed nationwide alleging discrimination on the basis of several specific religions, including the Muslim faith. Between Sept 11, 2001, and May 7, 2002, the EEOC received 497 charges on the basis of Muslim religion.

During the comparable period one year earlier, 193 such charges were received.

The commission says it has listened to the concerns of individuals most affected by backlash discrimination in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks and been frequently told that concrete answers to questions on the minds of employers and workers alike in the form of tangible information sheets could be helpful.

Its fact sheets are meant to respond to this demand. Questions and answers about employer responsibilities concerning the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs include information about hiring and other employment decisions, harassment, religious accommodation, temporary assignments, background investigations, and where to go for more guidance.

Questions discuss issues such as whether or not a Sikh person should be employed because he might turn away customers because he might be mistaken for a Muslim or whether a person with an obviously Muslim sounding surname such as “Muhammad” should be given a job.

The commission points out that denying a job on counts such these would violate civil rights legislation, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.

NEW PROGRAM: US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Charlotte Beers Wednesday outlined US efforts to promote understanding of the United States in the Muslim world through media and exchange programs.

Offering the keynote address at a two-day conference here on relations between the Muslim world and the West, Beers said her goal was not to sell US policy, but inform others about fundamental US values, in particular the freedom of religion.

“We need a more modest and substantive goal,” she said, one in which there is room for disagreement and debate over policy “but not hate.”

Beers aired one of several “mini-documentaries” produced in part by the US State Department that showed Muslims living successfully in the United States, including an Emergency Medical Technician who spoke how he was able to freely practice Islam.