Posted on 09/10/2008 5:50:41 PM PDT by SJackson
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Gold'n Plump Poultry has agreed to allow Somali workers to take short prayer breaks and to refuse handling pork at the St. Cloud, Minn.-based company's poultry processing facilities, under a federally mediated settlement.
The agreement is among the first in the nation that requires employers to accommodate the Islamic prayer schedule and the belief, held by many strict Muslims, that the Quran prohibits the touching and eating of pork products.
"For this group of Americans at this time in our nation's history, this is a very important outcome," said Joe Snodgrass, a St. Paul attorney who represented workers in the case.
A class-action lawsuit was brought in 2006 on behalf of nine Somali immigrants who worked at Gold'n Plump plants in Cold Spring, Minn., and Arcadia, Wis.
An attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity told the Star Tribune that both sides have reached a settlement in principle.
The lawsuit accused the Work Connection, an employment agency based in St. Paul that hired workers for Gold'n Plump's plants in Cold Spring and Arcadia, of requiring Muslim applicants to sign a "pork acknowledgment form," in which they agreed to handle pork products. It was alleged in the complaint that Somali workers who did not sign the document were not hired.
Jeff Wold, vice president of the Work Connection, said his company "categorically denied all the allegations of discrimination" and was "happy to say that this case has been resolved."
The settlement will include an undisclosed sum of money for some employees. Some workers may receive new offers of employment at Gold'n Plump.
A spokesman for privately owned Gold'n Plump confirmed that an agreement had been reached in principle and said in a statement that a formal process must now begin to obtain final court approval for the settlement. More details of the settlement, including how the prayers will be accommodated, are expected to be disclosed in the next two weeks.
The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 says employers must accommodate workers' religious beliefs, so long as the requests are "reasonable" and do not create "undue hardship" for the employer.
But the vague wording of the act has left much room for interpretation. Some employers, especially manufacturers, have argued that frequent prayer breaks disrupt work flow and reduce productivity.
For expanded coverage, see the next edition of The Country Today
Where is the ACLU? Imagine is this was done for Christians. Muslims will be the death of America.
Good grief! Yet when working retail I could not get Sunday mornings off to go to church. I was willing to work Sundays just need to start later.
My employer allows for prayer breaks (I’m in New York).
They fill a vessel with water and go into the bathroom stalls with a piece of cardboard to kneel on.
Why is it that so many Somalis work at meat and poultry processing plants? Are they practicing their beheading skills on critters?
so what we have here is
a company has to hire people who cannot do the job because they say their religious beliefs are infringed upon
also will we see the ACLU or one of the atheist groups gets involved
well done clinton for bringing these people here, well done
ARF
We Americans are a brilliant bunch. Pissed off islamderthals handling our food and our govt, steps in to give them what they want.
I’m sure it won’t be but a few weeks before we see more demands.
Don't buy dhimmi.
all I can say is Jesus!
My guess they're the bottom of the legal worker pay scale.
CANNOT POST THIS ENOUGH!
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:
Nation % Muslim
United States 1.0%
Australia 1.5%
Italy 1.5%
Norway 1.8%
Canada 1.9%
China 2.0%
At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:
Nation % Muslim
Denmark 2.0%
United Kingdom 2.7%
Germany 3.7%
Spain 4.0%
Thailand 4.6%
From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply. (United States).
Nation % Muslim
Switzerland 4.3%
Philippines 5.0%
Sweden 5.0%
The Netherlands 5.5%
Trinida and Tabago 5.8%
France 8.0%
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world. When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (Paris –car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam - Mohammed cartoons).
Nation % Muslim
Guyana 10.0%
India 13.4%
Israel 16.0%
Kenya 10.0%
Russia 15.0%
After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:
Nation % Muslim
Ethiopia 32.8%
At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:
Nation % Muslim
Bosnia 40.0%
Chad 50.1%
Lebanon 59.7%
From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:
Nation % Muslim
Albania 70.0%
Malaysia 60.4%
Qatar 77.5%
Sudan 70.0%
After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:
Nation % Muslim
Bangladesh 83.0%
Egypt 90.0%
Gaza 98.7%
Indonesia 86.1%
Iran 98.0%
Iraq 97.0%
Jordan 92.0%
Morocco 98.7%
Pakistan 97.0%
Syria 90.0%
Tajikistan 90.0%
Turkey 99.8%
United Arab Emirates 96.0%
100% will usher in the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam’ — the Islamic House of Peace — there’s supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim: Nation % Muslim
Yemen 99.9%
Afghanistan 100.0%
Saudi Arabia 100.0%
Somalia 100.0%
Of course, that’s not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.
– Leon Uris, “The Haj” Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond’s book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat
If the EEOC was involved in this, there's no reason the precedent can't apply to retail. For Muslims, of course.
That’s it. Time for Christians “Catholics especially) to demand the church bells be tolled at apropraite prayer times and demand employers give time out for prayer as well.
didn’t muslims get this in NY for taxi drivers
the company owner said that all his drivers went off to pray at certain times and he was losing money when he told them to work they went to court and now he’s stuck with people who disappear during the day and he looses money
Isn’t America great
foot baths, cabbies refusing to pick people up if they had wine of bacon, meat warehouses have to stop during the day, target has to take people off their check outs due to people who might have pork
this is just plain stupid
what’s next no work Fridays or during ramadan or EID?
So I have a company and I hire a person , two weeks later they say I’m not doing this and that plus I am off to pray during work hours
I cannot fire them and I lose money in my company
now why are they taking the jobs in the first place when they can’t or won’t do the job
as for bacon , pork wine etc
if they are so against it why do they sell it at their shops, gas stations etc
is it ok in their religion to sell it handle it when they make money but when they work for an American they can’t do it
Should get a contract saying what they have to do in their job and if later they say they cannot then they are fired according to the contract they signed
Not for long.
They'll have carpet or pads soon, and some sort or water dispenser and perhaps even their own special room.
I’ll make sure I don’t buy anything this company produces as well. They are too stupid to stay in business.
My thoughts exactly! I’d love to see the Angelus come back.
I worked with an old fart who was a 7th day adventist and had to be home by sundown on fridays. Our employer let him go but he had to work part of first shift to get his full day in.
Guess again. Try between 5-10%.
Stage 1:
Start immigrating - move into a country quietly
Stage 2:
Begin starting churches: “learning centers”
community helps: food etc.
Stage 3:
Political activism: demanding rights, denounce
derogatory comments/press etc.
Stage 4:
Get elected, pass laws favoring rights etc. move toward
political majority
Stage 5:
Political control, Sharia Law
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