Religious accommodation in the workplace UPDATE

This is getting out of hand. No one forces anyone to work anywhere. We had a similar deal with Somali taxi drivers trying to refuse passengers carrying alcohol at the airport. The Metropolitan Airport Commission, MAC officials, under national pressure, decided not to accommodate the taxi drivers.

Gold'n Plump should have stuck to it's guns.

For now, boycott Gold'n Plump for setting this precedent.

In a landmark settlement that could change the way Muslims are treated in the workplace, St. Cloud-based Gold'n Plump Inc. has agreed to allow Somali workers short prayer breaks and the right to refuse handling pork at its poultry processing facilities.

The federally mediated 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 Qur'an prohibits the touching and eating of pork products.

Coincidentally, the Minnesota Court of Appeals just upheld MAC's decision to suspend licenses of driver's refusing passengers carrying alcohol.

Muslim cabbies who risk losing their taxi licenses if they refuse to carry passengers with alcohol from the airport won't get any help from the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission adopted an ordinance in March 2007 that suspends a driver's taxi license for 30 days for refusing to pick up a passenger for any reason at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The penalty for a second refusal is a two-year license suspension. Cabbies have a right to appeal a suspension, with the penalty stayed until an administrative hearing officer issues a decision.

It is worth pointing out that most Muslim scholars do not believe ferrying alcohol carrying passengers violates the Koran.

This case has been driven by a small group called the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, which is trying to establish itself as a force in Minnesota politics by using a fake interpretation of the Koran and manipulating a naive immigrant group.

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