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Muslim-Friendly Workplaces On The Rise Out Of Fear Of Lawsuits

Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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Concerns relating to litigation about religious discrimination have some American employers taking steps to make the workplace more Muslim-friendly, Bloomberg News reports.

Anything from establishing prayer rooms to having office parties sans alcohol are just some of the things U.S. companies are doing out of deference for their Muslim employees.

“The atmosphere is so toxic now that even having constitutionally protected religious accommodation in the workplace can somehow be controversial,” Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Bloomberg.

CAIR filed complaints on behalf of Muslims whose jobs were terminated last January at a meat-packing plant after they walked-out in protest over the restrictions on their ability to have prayer breaks.

Ariens, a family-owned Wisconsin based roto tiller factory, tried to accommodate its Muslim workers prayer schedule at its factory, The U.S. Herald reported, but doing so satisfactorily made the production line less efficient, Ariens said in a statement. 

Muslims must pray five times every day, with one added prayer on Friday.

About 1 percent of the U.S. population practices Islam, but 40 percent of religion-based workplace complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in 2015 were Islam related.

“The value you get back from an employee who feels welcome and accommodated for their religious practices is immeasurable,” she says. “If employers don’t start taking these issues seriously, and put in measures to ensure that no one is subject to harassment, we’re going to see more claims,” Michelle Phillips, an employment law attorney, told Bloomberg.

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