Court Says Reasonableness of Religious Accommodation Is Jury Issue

In Haliye v. Celestica Corp., (D MN, June 10, 2010), Muslim plaintiffs sued their former employer and a temporary employment agency under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act claiming that defendants discriminated against them on the basis of their religion and failed to accommodate their religious duty to pray five times each day. A Minnesota federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to defendants, concluding that factual issues remained for the jury as to the reasonableness of the religious accommodations offered by defendants. The company had offered to change plaintiffs to a different shift. The temp agency offered alternative assignments to plaintiffs.