Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Fact Sheet

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the following fact sheet addressing Muslim and Arab employment discrimination charges between September 11, 2001, and December 11, 2002.
Muslim/Arab Employment Discrimination Charges since September 11

    Between 9/11/2001 and 12/11/2002, 705 charges were filed under Title VII with Process Type Z. [1].198 Charges were open as of 7/11/2002. Of the 507 charges resolved by the EEOC as of 12/11/2002, 56 were settlements, 13 were withdrawals with benefits, 7 were successful conciliations, 38 failed conciliation, 317 were closed with no cause findings, 44 were closed after Charging Parties requested and received notices of right to sue, 1 was closed after the respondent declared bankruptcy, 2 were closed for a failure to respond to a letter, 1 was closed for a failure to cooperate with the EEOC, and 5 were withdrawn with no benefits.

Of the 688 charges filed:

    Discharge is an issue in 428 charges.
    Harassment is an issue in 294 charges.
    As of 12/11/2002, EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that a violation of Title VII occurred in 54 Process Type Z cases.
    As of 12/11/2002, 72 individuals aggrieved by September 11-related employment discrimination have received $956,000 in monetary benefits through the efforts of EEOC.
    On September 30, 2002, EEOC’s New York District Office filed a lawsuit against the Worcester Art Museum alleging that, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the museum fired an Afghan-American Muslim man on the basis of his national origin and religion. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Mr. Zia Ayub, the only employess of either Muslim or Afghan origin, was ostracized by his co-workers, and one of Mr. Ayub’s co-workers falsely reported Mr. Ayub to the authorities as a suspected terrorist. On January 4, 2002, the museum terminated Mr. Ayub’s employment without notice, allegedly for taking excessive time to complete security rounds on three separate occasions, and he was replaced by a non-Muslim who was not of Aghan or Middle Eastern origin. The suit alleges that reasons given for Mr. Ayub’s termination were false and were used as an excuse for discrimination.
    On September, 27, 2002, EEOC’s Phoenix District Office filed a lawsuit against Alamo Car Rental alleging discrimination against Ms. Bilan Nur, a Customer Service Representative who had worked for Alamo since 1999. Ms. Nur has been allowed to wear a head scarf, or hijab, in observance of the holy month of Ramadan in 1999 and 2000, but was told not to do in December 2001. Instead, Alamo told Ms. Nur that the company dress code prohibited wearing a head scarf. Notwithstanding this representation, Alamo had no such policy. Alamo subsequently disciplined, suspended, and terminated Ms. Nur for failure to remove her head scarf. The alleged discrimination occured right after September 11, and Ms. Nur believes it was in reaction to her being Muslim. Ms. Nur even offered to wear and Alamo company scarf, but her offer was refused.
    On September, 30, 2002, EEOC’s Miami District Office filed a lawsuit against Chromalloy Castings Tampa Corporation, a manufacturer of precision investment castings for the aerospace industry. The EEOC’s suit, alleges that a naturalized American citizen of Palestinian descent was singled out and discharged with days of the September 11 attacks for no other reason than his national origin.
    Between 9/11/2001 and 12/11/2002, 705 charges were filed alleging employment disrimination under Title VII with Process Type Z. The numbers by State are: Alabama (7), Arizona (41), Arkansas (2), California (82), Colorado (5), Delaware (1), District of Columbia (20), Florida (53), Georgia (16), Illinois (53), Indiana (20), Kansas (1), Kentucky (13), Louisiana (5), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (29), Minnesota (13), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Nevada (5), New Jersey (17), New Mexico (9), New York (39), North Carolina (31), Oklahoma (15), Ohio (17), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (31), South Carolina (11), Tennessee (19), Texas (78), Utah (2), Virginia (25), Washington (11), West Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (4).

Employers include:

    Airlines, Manufacturing, Aviation Companies, Oil Refineries, Car Dealers, Package Delivery, Retail Stores, Research Centers, Electrical Companies, Restaurants, Health Care Facilities, State and Local Govt., Hotels, Universities, Information Technology, Laboratories, Protection Services, Freight Companies, Cable Companies, Power Companies, Public Schools.
    From 9/11/01 to 12/11/02, EEOC received 841 [2] charges of discrimination based on Religion-Muslim. In the same period last year, 6/11/00 to 9/10/01 (15 months), EEOC received 391 charges alleging discrimination based on Religion-Muslim.
    [1] This code is for charges related to the events of 9/11/01, by an individual who is-or is perceived to be-Muslim, Arab, Afghani, Middle Eastern or South Asian or individuals alleging retaliation related to the events of 9/11/01. Some Process Type Z charges are from non-Muslims.
    [2] This number includes some charges with alleged violation dates prior to 9/11/01. These charges are, by definition, not coded as Process Type Z charges.

RELATED LINK
EEOC Updates Guidance on National Origin Bias

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