Chicken processor Gold’n Plump has been forced to pony-up a settlement in a Somali worker prayer case in Minnesota. Accomodation of Muslim demands in the workplace continue aided by the folks at the EEOC and its subsidiary, CAIR. Hat tip: Janet. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
As many as 100 Somali Muslims who are current and former workers at Gold’n Plump Inc. will receive a total of $365,000 in a settlement of federal lawsuits alleging religious discrimination at the company’s chicken processing plants in Cold Spring, Minn., and Arcadia, Wis.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed in September that St. Cloud-based Gold’n Plump violated federal law by terminating Somali workers who prayed during their work shifts. The EEOC alleged in a separate lawsuit that the Work Connection Inc., an employment agency in St. Paul, required applicants for jobs at Gold’n Plump to sign forms acknowledging that they might be required to handle pork.
Many Muslims consider pigs to be unclean and believe the Qur’an prohibits them from handling pork products.
I guess we can expect Swift & Co. to be next. Remember they fired Somali workers in Greeley, CO and Grand Island, NE just a few months ago. See our coverage in this category.