ah minnesota…

Posted under american muslim, mn doncha know by rahma

…what can I say? While we’re known for Minnesota Nice, the husband has commented how people are often nice and hospitable to one’s face, but they’ll stab you in the back as soon as you can turn around.

Old Country Buffet’s Hiring Practices Under Fire

A civil liberties group for Muslims on Friday called upon the Eagan-based company that owns Old Country Buffet to investigate an incident involving a girl who says she was denied a summer restaurant job because of her religious headscarf.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking Buffets Inc. to investigate the incident, offer a written apology and participate in the group’s workplace sensitivity and diversity training.

H. Thomas Mitchell, an executive vice president for privately held Buffets, which owns and operates more than 550 restaurants across the country, said he couldn’t comment on the specific allegations. “We are diligently investigating it,” he said.

“We are an equal opportunity employer and frankly view ourselves as a strong anchor in the diverse communities we are frequently in,” he added.

An even scarier thing - the 344 346 353 comments at the time of this posting. *shudders* It’s so nice to know how some people really feel when they see a woman in hijab. Very few of the commenters seem to be aware of the actual law on the matter:

• Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow the employee to practice his religion. An employer might accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices by allowing: flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers, modification of grooming requirements and other workplace practices, policies and/or procedures.
• An employer is not required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and practices if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employers’ legitimate business interests. An employer can show undue hardship if accommodating an employee’s religious practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs, diminishes efficiency in other jobs, infringes on other employees’ job rights or benefits, impairs workplace safety, causes co-workers to carry the accommodated employee’s share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work, or if the proposed accommodation conflicts with another law or regulation.
• Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer may not place more restrictions on religious expression than on other forms of expression that have a comparable effect on workplace efficiency.

Please tell me, Mr. Old Country Buffet manager, how is a cashier wearing a headscarf creating an undue hardship on your business? Unless you’re saying your clientele are bigots, in which case, I could see how they’d be offended at the mere sight of a woman covering her hair working and earning a living…

I should note that we ate at Old Country Buffet once prior to our going zabiha, and there was a woman who wore hijab who refilled the food on the buffet. This leads me to believe that this is an isolated incident. The bigotry in the comments section, sadly, is not.