Ex-Employee Claims Mistreatment in Whole Foods Lawsuit

A Muslim is suing Whole Foods Market claiming he was mistreated after taking time off for a pilgrimage to Mecca and praying in a storage area inside a Philadelphia store.

Twenty-four-year-old Glenn Mack Jr. says he was restored to full-time status after fighting a demotion related to his pilgrimage but soon his superiors began heckling him about his praying.

According to the lawsuit Mack received permission to take time off in November 2010 but was given a choice between his trip and his job after management learned he planned to take a pilgrimage.

Mack took the trip but says he was fired in February after successfully fighting a demotion he received upon returning home.

Whole Foods said it couldn't address Mack's case specifically but the company values diversity and has zero-tolerance policy for discrimination.