Posted on 11/14/2007 7:31:47 PM PST by Pikamax
Muslim prayer time new legal issue at Swift plant DAN PACKARD MORRIS NEWS SERVICE
AMARILLO - The dispute over prayer breaks for Muslim employees at the Swift & Co. plant in Cactus is a two-sided legal issue, an Amarillo attorney said this week.
At least 54 plant employees, all Muslims of African descent, walked off the job last week, citing the company's refusal to allow them two prayer breaks and female employees adequate time to wash after using the restroom, a strict requirement of the religion.
Vicki Wilmarth, an attorney specializing in employment law, said, "The basic rule is, an employer has to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs and practices, but only if the employee can do so without undo hardship to the employer's business.
"So it's a balancing act. It requires the employer and employees to determine what a reasonable accommodation would be."
Wilmarth said the federal statute governing religious discrimination in the workplace is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the state statute is Texas Labor Code section 21.051.
"Although neither statute says that employers have to reasonably accommodate religion, the courts have implied that and the regulations enforce that."
Muslim workers pray five times a day and are asking Swift to grant two breaks a day: one at 4 p.m. and one at sunset.
"Breaks have to be paid if they are less than 30 minutes, but the law doesn't say how many there have to be," Wilmarth said.
Fan-frickin-tastic. The problem just walked out the damn door.
And Muslims will need a prayer room (chapel) set aside for them, with rugs, korans, etc. (Don’t mess with the korans or you’ll get another discriminatory hate-crime lawsuit).
They’ll demand it, and bully employers until they give in.
But there won’t be a bible study in an office or a small synagogue for Jews or time off for Catholics to say the rosary.
No problem, clock out and beat your meat if you want.
Well, that's one way to do it.
oh poor things are being Swift-planted?
Screw these idiots. Deport them.
Moral of this story is don’t hire muslims
lol...clever!
What’s the deal with woman and going to the bathroom? What do you do beyond washing your hands?
So they want five twenty minutes paid breaks to pray? How about all the time they need in the unemployment line.
Please excuse what likely seems a silly question to someone from the Lone Star State, but are we talking here about THIS Swift and Co. ?
Swift & Company - Products - Value Added Programs
They produce and package meat products there, many of them PORK.
And the reason why muzzies want to work around pork is what, exactly?
I know, I've heard it said that it's only a problem for them to eat it, but if your 'religion' has such specific rules against port, why not work somewhere else?
"scratching furry stoat head in confusion"
Yeah, I was wondering about that too.
They should find a job where they can work a night shift.
What do they pack at Swift? Meat? Do they refuse to handle pork products too?
Swift has many packing plants, if memory serves, the one in Cactus Texas only processes beef.
Yup. Lock their sorry asses out.
You have to say prayers and if you fart you have to start the cleaning ritual all over again. It is organized Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
It is beyond eating pork. Pig leather is also forbidden. Among some muslims even figurines of Winnie The Pooh are off limits.
No wonder the Muslim countries are so poor, instead of working all they do is pray and wash their feet. :>)
I really wonder if they really go through this routine every day of their lives. Do you think they are more “observant” in our country than back home in their countries? Could this be a way to get special treatment and a possible scam to sue the companies for money? Don’t be surprised.
No way. Its a joke - right?
I mean its men who are more likely to pee on their hands..ok to crude.
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