Columbus partner Mike Asensio was quoted in a September 13 Rocky Mountain News article, "Labor Law Experts Say Assembly Line Complicates Swift Situation."
The focus of the article is a labor dispute at a Colorado facility of JBS Swift, one of the world's largest and leading producers of beef and beef by-products. According to labor law experts, the company has a duty to accommodate prayer breaks for workers, but the nature of its business complicates matters.
The dispute centers on how to provide an earlier midshift respite that coincides with the Ramadan sunset prayer time—without inconveniencing the majority of non-Muslim workers. With 1,500 workers processing beef on a production line, allowing large numbers of them to leave their posts at specific times becomes far trickier than it does at most companies.
"If it's an all-or-nothing deal with their assembly line, that makes it more complicated," said Asensio, "but you still are going to be obligated to find other reasonable options. The question becomes have they satisfied their duty or not?"
According to the article, almost 300 employees walked off the job a week ago after they said Swift officials had rescinded an agreement that would have allowed Muslim workers a prayer break and time to break their fast at sundown in observance of the Islamic holy month. The union had not been involved in what it calls that initial "side deal," a potential problem for the company as the controversy unfolds.
"From a labor-relations standpoint, they have a duty to bargain with the union over all conditions of employment, which would include any prayer requests," Asensio said. "There's no question about that."