MORE UNBELIEVABLE--
(and the ramifications are mind boggling)
kingcountyjournal.com
Feds sue Oberto for discrimination
2005-01-27
by Bruce Rommel
Journal Reporter
KENT -- Federal officials have filed a lawsuit against Oberto Sausage Co.,[MY COMMENT-THEY USE PORK PRODUCTS-LOL] charging religious discrimination after six employees complained they were fired for taking their breaks for rituals to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The action filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims Oberto failed to offer reasonable accommodations for the religious needs of the employees, in violation of federal law.
Allegations disputed
The action seeks monetary damages for employees and asks a judge to require anti-discrimination training for Oberto employees.
``We're disputing the allegations, although it's certainly the right of the employees to appeal to the EEOC,' Tom Campanile, Oberto's president, said Wednesday.
Oberto, which distributes pepperoni and other sausages and snack foods, was founded in Seattle in 1917 and moved its headquarters and plant to Kent in 1978.
The EEOC said Oberto rejected offers of a ``pre-litigation settlement,' leading to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle. No trial date has been set.
According to the EEOC, the six employees are devout Muslims who wished to practice their religion by observing the Fast of Ramadan during October.
They speak little or no English, but through an interpreter said they wished to take a break of a few minutes at sundown for prayers and to ``break the fast' with a sip of water. They offered to give up other breaks during the day. However, the EEOC said, they were refused and finally fired when they took the breaks to observe their traditional ritual.
Offered different jobs
Campanile said the breaks requested included about 10 minutes for prayers, plus a few more minutes for employees going to and from a break room. They wished to take the prayer breaks ``several times during the day,' and when that many employees left packaging or processing conveyor lines, the lines had to be slowed or shut down, he said, delaying and disrupting production schedules.
Campanile said about a dozen employees are Muslims. They were offered different jobs at other ``stations' in the plant during Ramadan where they would be able to leave for their observances, he said.
``This is normal. Employees move around in the plant all the time,' Campanile said.
Some of the Muslim employees agreed to work at the other positions. Six declined to switch jobs, Campanile said. He said part of the problem may have been communicating with the employees, who are immigrants from Somalia with limited English skills.
In previous years, Campanile said, employees who are Muslim have been allowed breaks for their rituals of Ramadan and have brought prayer rugs to an employee break room for their observance.
Employees of other religions also have been allowed to practice their observances, he said.
U.S. DISTRICT COURT TRIALS DECISIONS MANAGEMENT FREEDOM |
