130 Muslim workers fired over unauthorized breaks during Ramadan

[Douglas Laycock]

A typically garbled press account, with paragraphs that sound like they're from two different disputes.  So it's hard to tell what's really going on. 

But if the dispute is really just about a lunch break at sunset, it's a pretty straightforward Title VII accommodation claim.  Hard to imagine what Swift's undue hardship would be if that standard were taken seriously.  Hard to imagine even what a de minimis hardship would be if nearly the whole work force is Muslim.  If there are also lots of non-Muslim workers, Swift might claim it has scheduling problems.  It sounds like at this point they made no effort to accommodate and don't give a damn, but of course they don't have to explain their legal position to a reporter. 

Quoting "Volokh, Eugene" <VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu>:

> From
> http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/10/swift-company-fires-10[1]
> 0-workers/:
>
> At least 130 Muslim workers at the north Greeley JBS Swift & Co. plant
> were fired Wednesday afternoon, apparently over a dispute involving
> breaks during Ramadan....
>
> At issue is a request by Muslim workers to be able to take their lunch
> breaks at sunset to end their fast during Ramadan.
>
> United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 spokesman Manny Gonzales said
> that between 130 to 150 workers from JBS Swift & Co. had been fired.
>
> The firings appear to be related to the walkout of as many as 300 Muslim
> employees Friday. Many of the workers had been suspended after walking
> off the job before their shifts ended....
>
> But many of the workers who gathered at a Greeley park Tuesday expressed
> their dissatisfaction with negotiations by saying, "No prayer, no work."
>
> Swift spokeswoman Tamara Smid said in a written statement that the
> workers were told they would be fired if they didn't report to work when
> recalled. Smid didn't specify how many workers were fired. ...
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Eugene
>
>

Douglas Laycock
Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law
University of Michigan Law School
625 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI  48109-1215
  734-647-9713

Links:
------
[1] http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/10/swift-company-fires-10
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/religionlaw/attachments/20080911/ce5eff61/attachment.htm