Madia Represents Victims of Religious Discrimination
We represented “Fred,” a Muslim man who was discriminated against and ultimately fired after he requested a religious accommodation so that he could use his lunch break to attend Friday prayers at a local mosque.
Fred has many years’ experience working as a recruiter in the transportation industry. In October 2019, Fred applied for a recruiting position with a new company. He quickly advanced through the application process and was selected as a finalist. He attended a final round of interviews with a company supervisor and the company’s human resources manager.
During the interview, the hiring supervisor forced Fred to disclose his religion after she volunteered that she was a Christian. Fred was uncomfortable discussing religion in the workplace but felt he had no choice but to comply. He reluctantly disclosed that he was a Muslim.
In November 2019, the company selected Fred for the recruiting position and he began his employment. Despite hardly receiving any training, Fred succeeded in his role as a recruiter and instantly began bringing in candidates. During his first week, the company’s owner, his supervisor, and the HR manager all praised Fred for his strong performance.
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Request for Religious Accommodations
On the Friday morning of his first week of employment, Fred approached his supervisor and requested to use his allotted lunch break that afternoon to attend Friday prayers at the nearest mosque. Instead of his supervisor accommodating this request, she immediately became irritated and interrogated Fred about how long he would be gone and where the mosque was. His supervisor indicated that the company was “too busy” to accommodate Fred’s request.
Fred ultimately didn’t go to Friday prayers as he feared doing so could put his job at risk. His supervisor’s reaction towards his request made it clear that attending Friday prayers was unacceptable. His supervisor later asked him whether he went to pray, and Fred said no.
Retaliation Due to Religion and Request for Religious Accommodations
Immediately following his request to attend Friday prayers, the company began closely scrutinizing Fred’s performance and subjected him to unjustified performance criticism. The company was never able to explain why this change in demeanor occurred.
Fred’s manager remained fixated on his religion and brought up the topic during multiple other conversations she had with Fred, which continued to make him uncomfortable. Fred was the only Muslim in the company’s administrative office.
The company ultimately fired Fred after just 13 workdays of his employment and without providing him with the necessary training for his position. The company claimed his performance was “substandard” despite the fact that Fred had successfully recruited multiple candidates during his short tenure with the company. Fred’s position was filled by two employees shortly after his termination, both of whom were Christian.
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Charge of Discrimination and Retaliation Filed with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights
Fred filed a charge of discrimination and retaliation against the company with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR). The MDHR completed an investigation and determined there was probable cause to believe that the company engaged in unfair discriminatory practices under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) when the company fired Fred because of his religion and his request for a religious accommodation.
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Madia Law’s Employment Attorneys Join the Case
Fred approached us with his case and we immediately filed a lawsuit on his behalf. We built up Fred’s case over a year and a half of litigation and intended to take it to trial.
Ultimately, we settled Fred’s case just weeks before trial for $230,000. We appreciate Fred’s bravery in speaking up against discriminatory practices.
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