J.B. Hunt Transport, the Arkansas-based carrier, will pay $260,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by four Sikh drivers who objected on religious ground to the manner in which the company proposed to drug test them.
The trucking company required three men to clip their hair for drug samples and required a fourth to remove his turban before providing a urine sample, said The Sikh Coalition, which represented the men and shared the agreement.
The four California men were not offered testing alternatives and were denied jobs when they refused to submit to the tests.
Observant Sikhs never cut their hair and wear turbans in public at all times, said Harsimran Kaur, the group’s legal director. It is considered shameful and humiliating to remove a turban in public.
The drivers didn’t object to urinalysis. The company declined comment.