This is not a repost. Yesterday’s legal jihad was in New York. via Suit says Muslim’s firing was based on religious bias.
A North Side man has filed a federal
lawsuit that says a Westerville-based logistics company fired him after
he sought permission to attend weekly Muslim worship services that
conflicted with overtime shifts.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of
Yusuf Sufi, 23, by the Columbus chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. It says Exel Inc. used religious
discrimination and retaliation, and wrongfully terminated him.Exel is a
subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL.
Sufi was hired in April 2011 at a
Northeast Side warehouse and subsequently given permission to use
vacation and other time-off hours to attend Friday afternoon worship,
according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus. Several
months later, he was given permission to combine his breaks to attend
the services.
When his supervisors were replaced, those
permissions were revoked, Sufi claims, and he was fired in May 2012
after telling a manger he could not skip Friday worship.
Friday services are mandatory for Muslim men, akin to the Sabbath for Jews or weekend worship for Christians.
In a statement, Exel said the company has
not terminated anyone for religious practices or requests and that it
“goes to great lengths to ensure employees’ religious practices are
understood and, as appropriate, accommodated.”
Sufi’s regular work week was Monday
through Thursday, but he was told he’d be penalized if he declined to
work Friday overtime shifts when requested, the lawsuit said.
He seeks reinstatement as well as an unspecified amount in lost pay and benefits and other damages.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission complaints filed last month by 18
Muslims who worked at the same warehouse. They claim they were fired for
praying at work. The company denies the allegations.
CAIR is Hamas. But don’t expect The Columbus Dispatch to share that information.
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