St. Paul, USA - Sehan Nabry, a school bus driver from Burnsville, said her boss confiscated her prayer mats and complained that her ritual hand and feet washing messed up an office bathroom.
Nabry said giving up her daily prayers, one of the five pillars of Islam, is not an option. Instead she did what an increasing number of Muslims are doing in Minnesota and around the country -- she sued.
"People told me I should just leave the job and find a new job, but I was thinking if I leave this job, there's no guarantee there won't be another manager like him," Nabry said. "I came to America for freedom. Why should I walk away?"
In Minnesota, the number of Muslims per year who filed federal complaints alleging religious discrimination at work climbed from four a decade ago to 66 last year. Nationally, the number has more than doubled since the mid-1990s.
Federal officials point to both the rising Muslim population and a post-Sept. 11 backlash as reasons for the increase. The ensuing lawsuits put the cherished American right to religious freedom against what many employers say is simply an effort to run an efficient business.
Federal law clearly outlaws religious discrimination and requires a "reasonable accomodation" of a worker's faith. But that can get murky quickly, as courts try to decide when such accommodations put an undue burden on their bottom line.
"The legal standard is a little bit loose," said University of Minnesota law professor Steve Befort. "Employers are not to discriminate on the basis of religion. There is a duty to accommodate, but the undue hardship regulation is not very high."
One such case has generated headlines in Minnesota, after a group of Muslim cabdrivers alleged that carrying passengers with alcohol or dogs violates their faith. Some of the drivers are facing penalties, and the Metropolitan Airports Commission is having a public hearing on the issue Tuesday afternoon.
In October, nine current and past Muslim workers sued Minnesota poultry processor Gold'n Plump and an employment agency, charging that they were prevented from praying at work. They also alleged they were forced to handle pork on the factory line and given dirty, less desirable jobs than other, non-Muslim workers.
Muslims pray five times a day, and Gold'n Plump attorney Tim Thornton said allowing factory line workers to take multiple breaks jeopardizes safety and food quality and decreases morale among other workers.
"Life doesn't stop five times a day even in Islamic countries," said Thornton, who's tapped an Islamic expert for assistance. "Islam understands supporting one's family is critical. There is flexibility in that faith, like other faiths, where they can make it up later. To suggest this interferes with their religious freedom is ludicrous."
Thornton said Gold'n Plump has a tight profit margin and must do what it can to stay afloat and keep providing jobs to Minnesota workers.
Karen Schanfield, a Minneapolis labor attorney, said employers too often immediately dismiss requests to change what has been standard practices. That won't fly as workplaces get more diverse, she said.
"You need to have a conversation with the employee about what the real need is and do a careful look if making that change would be burdensome to the employer," Schanfield said. "Where employers get into trouble is when a new idea comes across their desk and they dismiss it out of hand."