Cargill, Teamsters will pay $1.6M for violating Muslim workers’ prayer breaks

Cargill, Teamsters will pay $۱.۶M for violating Muslim workers’ prayer breaks

Cargill Meat Solutions will pay $1.5 million and the Teamsters Local Union No. 455 will pay $153,000 to resolve complaints filed in 2015 after the Somali-American workers walked off the job over the prayer breaks dispute.

Hawzah News Agency (Colorado, US) – A Fort Morgan meatpacking plant and the union that represents its employees will pay settlements to Muslim workers whose civil rights were violated when they were denied prayer breaks and then fired after they complained.

The company and the union did not accept the EEOC’s findings that they discriminated against the employees because of their religion, but decided to settle to avoid lengthy legal proceedings.

Cargill now allows prayer breaks and provides designated areas for the workers to practice their religion. The breaks take into account production line needs and food safety requirements.

The settlement will be paid to 138 people, said Amy Burkholder, director of the EEOC’s Denver office. The company and the union have agreed to change policies and to provide training to managers and union representatives as part of the settlement, she said.

“We’re happy with Cargill and the Teamsters for changing policies,” Burkholder said. “It brings them in line with our laws.”

Each worker will receive about $7,000, which is equivalent to about four months’ salary, said Qusair Mohamedbhai, a Denver lawyer who represented the workers. The workers also were represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The settlements include attorneys’ fees and costs.

About two dozen of the workers who filed complaints continue working for Cargill, Mohamedbhai said. The others found employment elsewhere.

“We applaud this settlement, which represents a mutually agreeable resolution of this case, and we welcome Cargill’s commitment to accommodating the religious needs of Muslim workers and workers of other faith backgrounds,” Lena Masri, CAIR’s national litigation director, said in a statement.

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