Business

Trucking company sued for religious discrimination

Posted June 13, 2013 6:43 am

Associated Press

PEORIA — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued an Illinois trucking company for allegedly violating the religious rights of two former employees.

The Peoria Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/14Yoj0v ) the lawsuit filed May 29 alleges Star Transport, Inc. fired two Muslim truck drivers for refusing to deliver alcohol in 2009. The lawsuit contends the company failed to provide the men “with a reasonable accommodation and by terminating them because of their religion.”

The EEOC seeks back pay and damages for the men, and a court order barring future discrimination.

EEOC attorney John Hendrickson says all have the right to observe their religious beliefs. He added employers can’t “pick and choose which religions and which religious practices they’ll accommodate.”

A telephone call to Star Transport on Wednesday for comment wasn’t immediately returned.

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