Does Dunkin’ Donuts Discriminate Against Muslim Franchisees?
(FranchisePick.Com) Does Dunkin Donuts have the right to require franchise owners to sell its entire product line, even if it violates their religious beliefs? Does a franchise owner have the right to accuse Dunkin Donuts of discrimination when they have accomodated him for years? Are they under obligated to renew his franchise agreement under his terms? What do you think?
From Overlawyered.com:
Dunkin’ Donuts unfair to Muslim franchisee?
“A discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee who was not allowed to renew his contract with the chain because of a refusal to sell pork products can proceed, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday.” For many years the donut chain had permitted Walid Elkhatib to refrain from including bacon, sausage or pork in breakfast sandwich offerings, because of religious scruples, but in 2002 it insisted that he carry the line with meat included, and he sued on religious-discrimination grounds. According to the coverage, Circuit judge Ilana Diamond Rovner apparently found it significant that the donut chain had allowed some franchisees in the area not to carry the breakfast sandwiches, for reasons that included, e.g., limited space. It sounds, though, as if the deal that Elkhatib wished to carry forward was somewhat different: he wanted to go ahead and keep selling the sandwiches without putting meat in them, which would presumably have implications for what franchising strategists call the consistency of the customer experience. (”Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts Owner Can Sue Over Pork, Appeals Court Says”, Reuters/FoxNews.com, Jul. 10; Samuel Estreicher and Michael J. Gray, “Religion and the U.S. Workplace”, Human Rights Magazine (ABA), Summer 2006)(& welcome Michelle Malkin readers).
From FOXnews.com (excerpt):
Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts Owner Can Sue Over Pork, Appeals Court Says
Tuesday , July 10, 2007
A discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee who was not allowed to renew his contract with the chain because of a refusal to sell pork products can proceed, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The decision reversed an Illinois federal court judge’s 2004 ruling that rejected Walid Elkhatib’s argument that Dunkin’ Donuts discriminated against him based on his race by making the sale of breakfast sandwiches with bacon, ham or sausage a mandatory part of his franchise agreement.
According to court papers, Elkhatib, a Palestinian Arab, has been a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee since 1979, before the company began selling any pork….
In an opinion Tuesday, U.S. Circuit Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner wrote… “There is significant evidence that the carrying of breakfast sandwiches was not an issue of importance to Dunkin Donuts. It allowed other franchises in the area to refuse to carry any breakfast sandwiches at all, when merely relocating the stores, or in one case merely rearranging the displays, would have allowed them to carry the full line,” Rovner wrote….
Dunkin’ Donuts is a unit of Dunkin’ Brands, which is owned by private equity firms Bain Capital, Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee partners.
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6 opinions for Does Dunkin’ Donuts Discriminate Against Muslim Franchisees?
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Jul 14, 2007 at 2:11 pm
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Jul 15, 2007 at 9:44 am
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usman
Jul 25, 2007 at 8:14 am
pork is not using in majority of the muslim countries.so its not a big deal to use alternatives.or even not to use sandwiches in franchise shops in many muslim countries.especially in Gulf,people love to take Dunkin Donuts Coffee mostly.
(One of the employee,Dunkin Donuts int’l.KSA)
sean
Jul 25, 2007 at 9:56 am
Thanks for your comment, usman. This franchise owner’s shops were in the U.S. Franchise companies try to maintain as much consistency as they can between different locations so customers know what they can get at every location. They also want their sales to be as high as possible. If someone’s not selling a particular product line, the franchisor is not receiving royalties on the lost sales.
tom jones
Aug 8, 2007 at 10:36 am
In my opinion it is not racial but religious discrimination. By only sponsoring shops that sell pork they are showing favoritism to religions that allow pork and discrimination against religions that forbid pork and the favoritism amounts to discrimination. As a person who is forbidden pork, I resent the corporate policy. It is not only touching pork but the inhalation of pork fumes from cooking and the pork grease on everything I touch, not to mention making me deal with religious hippocrits who still eat pork and claim they are people of G-d, which is forbidden by my religion, we are not to associate with hippocrits, including the hipocracy of eating pork as a Jew, Muslim or Christian. It is very offensive that I have been subject to pork eaters in order to get a job. What is it about respect that they do not understand? Or is it that serving Lucifer by eating pork, means that they can not get by without doing it? I mean really how hard is it not to eat pork for the few hours per day a person is at work or at school? And how hard is it not to sell pork in public places? If people must eat pork they should do it only at home out of respect for others. When I drive by a BBQ and the pork fumes coat me or my car and children it offends me and violates my religion, but some dont want to respect this and that should be a crime. Your hippocritical thinking has forced many a religious person to deny their own faith for fear of losing their livly hood and the USA in particular should make this illegal. This is overdue in my opinion!
sean
Aug 8, 2007 at 2:31 pm
tom jones: Thank you for your comment and your perspective. Muslims certainly should have the right to practice their religion without compromise. We all need to respect the beliefs and practices of others, even when they seem strange to us.
However, this franchise owner’s contract and agreement is completed. Why should Dunkin’ Donuts be obligated to sign a new agreement with someone who doesn’t want to sell their full product line? If a Jewish person wanted to buy a Honeybaked Ham franchise, but did not intend to sell ham, would they be obligated to award them a franchise? Why doesn’t this Muslim franchisee just buy a Krispy Kreme franchise?
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