CAIR: EEOC Says Neb. Muslim Workers Faced 'Unlawful Harassment'

CAIR-Chicago receives favorable determination in religious accommodation case

CHICAGO, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chicago office of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today announced that the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has determined that Somali
Muslim employees at a meatpacking plant in Nebraska faced "unlawful
harassment" because of their religion.

SEE: Advocates Say Feds Telling Neb. Plant to Do More to Resolve Muslim Prayer
Issue
http://www.kdvr.com/news/sns-bc-ne--muslimprayerdispute,0,7938227.story

Last fall, Muslim workers at the Swift Co. plant in Grand Island, Neb., began
facing harassment, and in some cases termination, after requesting that their
break schedules be adjusted to allow them to perform their daily prayers.
(Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that employers must
accommodate the religious practices of employees unless it causes the employer
undue hardship.)

After a year-long investigation into the complaints, the EEOC this week said
in a letter to CAIR-Chicago that "such accommodation would not have posed an
undue hardship to [Swift]" and that the evidence further establishes that
Swift's supervisors "subjected Somali Muslim Employees to unlawful harassment,
disparate treatment, and discrimination in terms and conditions of employment
based on their religion, national origin, race, and color." The letter also
confirms that some employees were unlawfully terminated in retaliation for
their requests for religious accommodation.

"This determination is a major victory for the Somali Muslim workers and for
every employee who has been denied reasonable religious accommodation," said
CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham. "Americans work hard and
they deserve to be able to earn a living while knowing they are not
sacrificing their beliefs to put food on the table."

Abraham and CAIR-Chicago Volunteer Attorney Rima Kapitan have been advocating
on behalf of the workers.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.
Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue,
protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Amina Sharif, E-Mail:
asharif@cair.com; 312-212-1520 or 630-935-5562; CAIR-Chicago Civil rights
Director Christina Abraham, E-Mail: civilrights@cairchicago.org; 312-212-1520;
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or
202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina
Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

Amina Sharif, CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator, +1-312-212-1520,
+1-630-935-5562, asharif@cair.com, Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago Civil
rights Director, +1-312-212-1520, civilrights@cairchicago.org, Ibrahim Hooper,
CAIR National Communications Director, +1-202-488-8787, +1-202-744-7726,
ihooper@cair.com, or Amina Rubin, CAIR Communications Coordinator,
+1-202-488-8787, +1-202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com