Muslim Voice ARIZONA
april 2013
rABI ALTHANI/jamada alawal 1434H
Monthly Newspaper
www.AZMuslimVoice.com
Obamacare Gave My Mom Peace of Mind
CAIR-Ohio Files Muslim Workers’ Bias Complaints Against DHL Subsidiary Exel, Inc. reportedly fired 18 employees for seeking religious accommodation (Columbus, Ohio, 3/26/2013) - The Columbus, Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) announced today that it has filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Exel, Inc., a subsidiary of DHL, on behalf of 18 Muslim employees who were allegedly fired for praying in the workplace. The Muslim employees reported to CAIR-Columbus that they had asked the company several times for prayer accommodations, including adjusting break times or taking their prayer breaks without pay, but the company repeatedly denied any of the accommodations proposed by the employees. One manager allegedly told the employees they should pray in the bathroom so they wouldn’t be seen praying. Other managers told them to “obey the rules or get fired.” In their complaints, the employees say they made an effort to resolve the dispute by trying to speak to human resources, but that Exel managers and supervisors repeatedly refused to allow them access to the human resources department. Managers reportedly began terminating Muslim employees when they saw them praying at work. On February 8, 2013 the general manager called a meeting in which he reportedly told a large group of Muslim employees, many of whom had been working for the company for years, that Exel would not change its policies and that the company could not provide a religious accommodation. He ultimately terminated the entire group when they insisted they had a right to religious accommodation. Both state and federal law requires employers to accommodate the religious Continued on page
Health care reform is already helping people struggling to get health insurance. I know -my mother is one of them. Continued on page
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Sudan’s Story of Recession
New America Media, Commentary, Hana Baba SAN FRANCISCO--I visit Sudan about every two or three years. It’s my ancestral home; my parents and extended family are there. My most recent visit last December, however— my first since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011--was revealing. I could see, hear and feel the difference in the capital Khartoum--both socially and economically. Just driving down a main Continued on page
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Pro-Immigrant Measures Make Gains At The State Level
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