An appeal by a Colorado beef-processing plant to deny former employees unemployment benefits was denied by the state's Department of Labor and Employment Thursday. The employees, all of them Muslims, quit or were fired after management at the Cargill plant instituted a new policy denying them prayer breaks. The state held that there was no operational basis or justification for Cargill's change in policy, and that the policy change met the standard for the former workers to receive benefits.In addition, a number of the former employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
See "Muslim Workers Win UI Benefits Despite Cargill's Objections", Rhonda Smith, Bloomberg BNA, August 12, 2016