AT&T to pay Muslim woman $6.2m in harassment case

A former Kansas City woman who converted to Islam in 2005 said she was harassed for years at AT&T, and that the abuse boiled over in 2008 when her boss snatched her head scarf and exposed her hair.

A Jackson County jury on Thursday awarded Susann Bashir US$5 million (S$6.2 million) in punitive damages in her discrimination lawsuit against the telephone company, along with US$120,000 in lost wages and other actual damages.

The Kansas City Star newspaper reported on Saturday that the award appears to be the largest jury verdict for a workplace discrimination case in Missouri history.

Ms Bashir said in court documents that her work environment became hostile immediately after she converted, with her co-workers making harassing comments about her religion and referring to her hijab as 'that thing on her head.'

ORIGINAL SOURCE
Content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.