I would like to state that I am a practicing Muslim and was born into the religion since birth (please don’t disrespect the religion if you don’t have a clear understanding of it). I would also like to pinpoint that we pray 5 times a day, from sunrise to sunset.
So long story short, out of all the employees that aren’t Muslim (there are only three of us employees that identify as Muslims) I was the only one who was handed a piece of paper supposedly written up by the school lawyer that I can only use my prayer during my lunch time or make up the missing time by arriving to work early or staying later. After I was hired (May 2022), I let the principal and HR know in advance that us Muslims have to pray at the time that we are supposed to pray and that we can’t just whenever we feel like it. She, the principal, is making up constant excuses as to why I can’t get a regular 30 minute lunch, and pray at the job. Her main excuse was that me praying is a “personal matter”, which isn’t true at all. I believe that she made this become an issue because of the teacher that I’m working with has an issue with me stepping out to pray. I’ve heard from other coworkers about her complaining about this matter into the “air” (since she’s always talking to herself) and this is supposed to be a work-free discrimination zone. I feel like this has caused a lot of trust issues with me and I can’t work with someone who has an issue with my religious practice. I don’t judge anyone for their beliefs and I treat everyone with the same amount of respect regardless of their beliefs. I feel like that they don’t fully grasp that this is something that shouldn’t be accommodated under any circumstances for any reason at all. Especially since Daylight Savings is around the corner, the prayers will not be too far apart from one another. This is a form of discrimination and I will handle it to the fullest extent of the law.