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In reply to the discussion: Are employers required to grant Muslim employees prayer breaks? [View all]Igel
(35,300 posts)For a while, courts ruled that their religion had to be accommodated. Sundown's early Friday? They get the time off--perhaps they make it up some other time. Perhaps not. If work requires that they show up on Saturday, albeit irregularly, oh, well--they don't have to show up.
This didn't last long. It can be a hardship.
I was one. I worked in a kitchen. When it was just one of us, not a problem. When two, because the church members had a good work ethic, it was manageable. At three, the manager started having scheduling problems during vacation times for non-sabbath-keepers or when the facility's use peaked and we needed a lot more than average staffing. That place solved the problem by shifting workers to other duties.
Some employers accommodate such, but that's at the employer's discretion. Nearly all that I've ever run into make a reasonable effort if you're honest and upfront with the issue and have decent references. But sometimes the job doesn't allow it. And sometimes the employee doesn't allow the boss to be reasonable--you approach a new boss (or an old one) with hostility, it pays to remember that "employee" and "employer" are not synonyms for "peers and equals."