Wassoud v. JB Systems, Inc. Hypothetical on Religious Accommodations
Wassoud v. JB Systems, Inc. Hypothetical on religious accommodations
Ali Wassoud works as an engineer for JB Systems, a manufacturing plant in Minnesota. As a devout Muslim, Wassoud is required to pray five times a day and is also required to attend prayer services at his mosque for a short period on Friday afternoons. Wassoud asked his manager, Frederick Hutchins, to allow him and six other Muslim employees at JB to take two breaks during the day and use a small conference room for prayers. He has also asked that they be given 40 minutes off on Friday afternoons to attend prayer services at a nearby mosque. Hutchins maintains that these requests conflict with the employees’ work hours and are unreasonable.
Are the employees entitled to the accommodations for their religious practices? How should this situation be resolved? Are there additional facts that would help you resolve this dispute?
Discussion: Forum #4
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Discussion: Forum #4
Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to reasonably accommodate their employees' religious practices whenever there is a conflict between employment responsibilities and duties and religious commitments, such as attending prayer, unless it causes an "undue hardship" to the employer. The United States (U.S) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the Federal body responsible for enforcing Title VII to all firms with more than fifteen workers in America (ADL, 2022). Concerning EEOC laws, Wassoud and the other six employees are not entitled to accommodations for their religious practices because Hutchins, their employer, claims their request for religious practices conflicts with the working hours, which can lead to "undue hardship" to the company. Therefore, Hutchins, as their employer, has the right to deny them religious accommodations since he argues their refrainment from the task can diminish job efficiency and potential financial losses for the company (Flake, 2020). Additionally, refraining from a job before the end of normal working hours infringes other...