Lawsuit Accuses UPS Of Pushing Out Muslim Workers Over Prayer Breaks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minnesota chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a lawsuit against a UPS branch, accusing the mail delivery service of firing Muslim employees over prayer breaks.
The Muslim advocacy organization says it filed the lawsuit last week in the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota, requesting that court orders UPS Mail Innovations to compensate the workers for the harm done to them in addition to punitive damages.
The lawsuit also seeks to stop workers from being fired under similar circumstances in the future.
According to CAIR-MN, Somali Muslim workers were fired for wanting to pray during breaks after UPS hired a new operations manager.
Previously, the workers had been allowed to pray during break times, and there was "no problem."
The new manager, however, wanted to change the workplace to be like his former facility in Arizona, CAIR-MN says. The manager allegedly told the employees that anyone who wanted a break to pray would be fired and that if they were caught praying during a bathroom break they'd also be terminated.
Doherty Staffing Solutions is also named in the lawsuit. CAIR-MN says the Minneapolis-bases staffing company didn't fulfill its role and allowed the Muslim workers to be fired.
