Swift and Co. are facing a legal battle over its Muslim employees, at least 54 of them, wanting to pray on company time. But see, the federal government says, the company has to accommodate them, at company cost:
At least 54 plant employees, all Muslims of African descent, walked off the job last week, citing the company’s refusal to allow them two prayer breaks and female employees adequate time to wash after using the restroom, a strict requirement of the religion.
Vicki Wilmarth, an attorney specializing in employment law, said, “The basic rule is, an employer has to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and practices, but only if the employee can do so without undo hardship to the employer’s business.
“So it’s a balancing act. It requires the employer and employees to determine what a reasonable accommodation would be.”
Here’s an easy fix: You walked off the job, so you’re fired. Simple. Problem solved, right? Not so much.
The employees would file a class actions suit, causing the company to lose more money in legal fees. And then, the federal government would call the company’s actions discrimination and fault the company, probably with monetary fines. So basically, the company is between a rock and a hard place. They can’t get rid of the problem employees, and they can’t not hire future Muslim applicants, all because of federal government discrimination laws.
This is what happens when the government messes in the free market. Oh, I know, there are some sitting in slack jawed wonder that I am actually advocating discrimination. Well, look at it this way. If the employees practiced a little discrimination before taking a job, they would not be in a position where their job gets in the way of religious obligations. But now, they feel their employer should make concessions for their religion. So who is right here? Is it the responsibility of the employee to be more selective about their choice of jobs, or should the employer be forced to give up time on the clock so people can go pray?
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