Arizona Hotel Pays $50,000 to Settle Lawsuit Alleging That It Failed to Protect Arab-American Employee from Harassment and Discrimination Based on His National Origin
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05/22/2012
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Phoenix, Arizona has agreed to settle a lawsuit that alleged the company failed to protect an Iraqi-American employee from discrimination.
The owner of the Phoenix hotel will pay the former employee, Basil Massih, $50,000 for subjecting him to a hostile work environment because of his national origin. The EEOC claimed that Massih was forced to resign because the harassment he experienced continued and escalated while the hotel did nothing to stop it.
The EEOC alleged that despite Massih’s complaints to his supervisors, ethnic slurs and taunts relating to his Iraqi origin continued, forcing him to resign because the workplace was intolerable.
Discrimination on the basis of national origin violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. “Employers have an affirmative duty to protect employees from discrimination and national origin harassment,” said the regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office, Mary Jo O’Neill.
The Employment Law Group® law firm has an extensive discrimination practice and has broad experience fighting for the rights of employees who have been victims of discrimination and retaliation by their employers.
The owner of the Phoenix hotel will pay the former employee, Basil Massih, $50,000 for subjecting him to a hostile work environment because of his national origin. The EEOC claimed that Massih was forced to resign because the harassment he experienced continued and escalated while the hotel did nothing to stop it.
The EEOC alleged that despite Massih’s complaints to his supervisors, ethnic slurs and taunts relating to his Iraqi origin continued, forcing him to resign because the workplace was intolerable.
Discrimination on the basis of national origin violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. “Employers have an affirmative duty to protect employees from discrimination and national origin harassment,” said the regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office, Mary Jo O’Neill.
The Employment Law Group® law firm has an extensive discrimination practice and has broad experience fighting for the rights of employees who have been victims of discrimination and retaliation by their employers.
