190 MOSLEM WORKERS SACKED FOR PRAYING TIME DISPUTE

A meat processing factory in Fort Morgan, Colorado, fired 190 workers for praying time dispute.
Cargill employed about 2000 workers to process 1,800 tons of beef daily. Majority of these workers are immigrants moslems from Somalia.

Jaylani Hussein, a spokesman for and an executive director of the Council of American Islamic
Relations Minnesota chapter, explained that Cargill had for years allowed the Muslim employees to take prayer breaks at this location with relatively no issues. And keep in mind the Muslim employees would work on the Christian holidays so that the Christian employees could practice their faith.
But a few weeks ago a dispute arose when a supervisor apparently told workers they could no longer pick their own break time to pray, but instead would need the permission of a supervisor to go pray. When some of the Muslim employees pressed the supervisor about when he would release them to pray, they were reportedly told by the supervisor: “If you want to pray, go home.”

That sparked a walkout by some Muslim employees. Thereafter hundreds of them remained home in protest of what they viewed as Cargill revoking their religious accommodation to pray. Cargill then fired 190 Muslim employees who refused to return to work until they were provided assurances that they could take prayer breaks.

But a few weeks ago a dispute arose when a supervisor apparently told workers they could no longer pick their own break time to pray, but instead would need the permission of a supervisor to go pray. When some of the Muslim employees pressed the supervisor about when he would release them to pray, they were reportedly told by the supervisor: “If you want to pray, go home.”
That sparked a walkout by some Muslim employees. Thereafter hundreds of them remained home in protest of what they viewed as Cargill revoking their religious accommodation to pray. Cargill then fired 190 Muslim employees who refused to return to work until they were provided assurances that they could take prayer breaks.

 A Cargill spokesperson also comment on Twitter  that the company respected people’s right to pray and noted that “our Muslim employees are still taking prayer breaks at work.”

The sacked workers now claiming religion discrimination.  The hope, as Hussein noted, was to resolve this dispute amicably, which is typically how most religious-accommodations cases end up. But if that doesn’t happen, they will certainly explore their legal rights provided by the Civil Rights Act.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 states among others things that  employers are required to provide a “reasonable accommodation” so that employees can practice his or her faith.