Excerpt:
A New Brighton factory is the latest Twin Cities employer to confront employment issues related to Muslim workers and their religious requirements at a time when the area's population of Islamic adherents — and employees — is increasing.
Mission Foods, whose parent company is Irving, Texas-based food giant Gruma Corp., became the subject this week of a complaint filed with both the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights; one of the two agencies will investigate the allegations of employment discrimination based on religion.
Six female Somali production employees claim their badges were taken away and they were asked to leave company premises May 5 after they refused to wear a new pants-and-shirt uniform. The women, who dress in traditional Islamic robes and head coverings, consider such form-fitting attire an insult to their faith, which encourages women to cover all parts of their bodies and hair, according to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN).