Fired Muslim workers get settlement from DHL

DHL Global Mail has reached an agreement with two dozen Somali Muslims who say they were fired from the company’s Hebron facility in 2013 because they took a break for evening prayer, The Enquirer has learned.

The Cincinnati chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cincinnati) will announce the settlement later this afternoon with DHL over religious accommodation complaints brought by 23 Muslim workers in October 2013.

Booker Washington, staff attorney for CAIR-Cincinnati, said the settlement agreement – the terms of which remain confidential – “brings the case to a satisfactory close and recognizes the needs and rights of all parties.”

CAIR-Cincinnati officials said they could not reveal details of the settlement or answer whether workers had regained their jobs or received a financial settlement.

Muslim workers who sorted mail DHL said management reversed a policy that had allowed flexible break time for workers to say required evening prayers. Fired workers, three of them full-time employees of DHL and the others part-time who help through two temporary service agencies, said they had been allowed to pray by previous supervisors. The prayers took about five minutes, workers said.

The workers filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged DHL Global Mail fired the group of 24 Somali Muslims for exercising their legally protected religious rights.

“We welcome this settlement, which represents a mutually-agreeable resolution of this case,” CAIR attorney Washington said.

The Enquirer reported the initial allegations first on Cincinnati.com on Nov. 6, 2013.

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Cincinnati.com