Virginia woman sues, says prayer break request cost her job

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia woman has sued a company that she says refused to hire her after she requested two five-minute breaks to pray during her work shift.

Shahin Indorewala of Woodbridge says her job interview with Falls Church-based Fast Trak Management was going well until she asked if she could take the prayer breaks in exchange for a shorter lunch break to accommodate her practices as an observant Muslim.

The 26-year-old Indorewala says in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Alexandria that the company CEO then mocked her religious headscarf and refused to hire her.

CEO Ramses Gavilondo said in an interview that he didn’t hire Indorewala because she “wanted to preach her religion.” He said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and found no wrongdoing.