DELL Fires 30 Muslims Over Maghrib Prayer

ACTION REQUESTED: Contact Dell to request that they rehire the Muslim workers pending a mutually-agreeable resolution of the dispute.

CONTACT: Mr. Kevin B. Rollins President and CEO Dell Computers One Dell Way Round Rock , TX 78682

Contact Dell to urge rehiring of workers, mediation

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/10/05) - CAIR today called on Dell Computers to rehire 30 Muslims workers allegedly fired from a plant in Tennessee for seeking to perform Islamic prayers in the workplace, and offered to help the company and its employees reach a mutually-agreeable solution to the dispute.

CAIR said the workers were fired from a Dell facility in Nashville , Tenn. , after they sought to perform the Maghrib prayer each day after sunset. (Because the Maghrib prayer is tied to a particular time of day, it requires greater flexibility and creativity on the part of employers and workers.)

"Given sufficient goodwill on the part of all those involved, both the employees' legal right to reasonable religious accommodation and the employer's right to maintain smooth operations in the workplace can be maintained," said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.

In a letter sent today to Dell President and CEO Kevin B. Rollins, Iftikhar asked that the Muslim workers be rehired pending resolution of the issues involved. He said CAIR staffers who have experience dealing with workplace religious accommodation are available to act as mediators between the Muslim workers and Dell.

CAIR publishes a booklet, called "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," designed to prevent just such incidents. The booklet is available by e-mailing pubs@cair-net.org. (Include name, address and phone number when requesting the booklet.) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires an employer to accommodate religious practices unless it causes an "undue hardship."

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