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September 24, 2010

Muslim Workers Face Increasing Employment Discrimination
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The New York Times reports a record number of Muslim workers are
complaining of employment discrimination. Federal data reports the
number of complaints filed jumped 60 percent between 2005 and 2009. And
the number of complaints filed in 2010 are expected to be even higher.
Although Muslims make up less than two percent of the US population,
they now account for about one-quarter of the religious discrimination
claims filed. Mary Jo O’Neill of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission said, “There’s a level of hatred and animosity that is
shocking. I’ve been doing this for 31 years, and I’ve never seen such
antipathy toward Muslim workers." Last month, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission sued the meatpacking company JBS Swift on behalf
of 160 Somali immigrants, saying supervisors and workers had cursed them
for being Muslim; thrown blood, meat and bones at them; and interrupted
their prayer breaks.



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