DENVER—Federal officials says the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Greeley was wrong to fire more than 100 Muslim workers who walked out during Ramadan last year in a dispute over prayer breaks.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday that Swift failed to provide religious accommodations to workers and retaliated against those who complained.
The workers on the evening shift wanted their lunch breaks to coincide with sunset so they could pray during the holy month of Ramadan and end their day’s fasting.
Swift says it has made changes to so Ramadan goes smoothly this year.
The commission’s ruling means the fired workers and the company can try to reach a settlement, including giving workers their jobs back. The workers or the EEOC can sue Swift if no settlement is reached.
