A dispute over prayer accommodation has led to 150 Muslims being fired from their job at a Colorado Cargill beef plant.
Watch below:
More from Denver ABC 7:
Nearly 150 Somali refugees say they hope to get their jobs back after they were fired from the Cargill Beef Plant in Fort Morgan after many of them left their posts following a dispute over workplace prayer.
Company officials said the employees were terminated for attendance policy violations.
“The majority of them did not show up, or call, for three consecutive days,” said Michael Martin, Director of Communications for Cargill, Inc.Several of the fired employees told Denver7 that Cargill won’t allow them to pray when they need to. “It’s compulsory to pray,” said Said Ahmed. “That’s our religion.”
Most of the Somali refugees are Muslims who work the afternoon shift at the plant on East Burlington Avenue. “We have to pray at sunset,” said Mohamud Hassan. “Sunset changes in the winter.”
Hassan added the company would only let a handful of employees pray at sunset.
But Martin said Cargill has made religious accommodation for its employees, and it can’t accommodate all their wishes.
“In 2009, we established reflection areas for all employees to use, regardless of faith,” he said.
He also said that employees work on a production line. “It’s a disassembly line. A large number of employees are standing at stainless steel tables.”
Martin told Denver7 that the company allows some of those employees to leave the production line for breaks, but can’t allow a large number to leave, or it would disrupt work production.
“They had to rotate two or three at a time,” he said.
Martin added there was a misunderstanding during the second shift on December 18. He said 11 people from one specific table all asked to pray at the same time. When they were told they couldn’t all go at once, ten resigned.
I understand that companies have to make religious accommodations but when workers walk off on the job, then an employer should have the right to fire them. It also bothers me that the video of the refugees made it sound as if their only other choice is to get on welfare. Apparently they can’t conceive of finding another job?