labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A Muslim woman in Phoenix, Arizona was recently awarded $287,000 for religious discrimination when her employer refused to allow her to wear a headscarf to work during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The suit by the EEOC charged that in the post-9/11 backlash, Alamo Car Rental committed religious discrimination when it fired a Somali customer sales rep in December 2001 for refusing to take off her head scarf.

Alamo will pay $21,640 in back pay, $16,000 in compensatory damages, and $250,000 in punitive damages to Bilan Nur.

EEOC attorney David Lopez described Bilan Nur as a remarkable woman. She was a refugee from war-torn Somalia who came to this country as a young woman. “Ms. Nur viewed America as the country that offered her hope, safety, and equality. With the jury’s findings today, Ms. Nur has been reassured that, even after 9/11, Americans still believe in justice for all people. Ms. Nur and the EEOC are both very pleased with today’s results.” Lopez added, “We hope this verdict sends a message to the community that this community will not accept religious intolerance in the workplace.”

According to the lawsuit, Ms. Nur had worn an Alamo-logo scarf, approved by her manger, to work during the Muslim holy month in prior years. After 9/11, however, the manager fired her when she refused to uncover her head at work. Although the company admitted that wearing a headscarf did not violate its dress code, it fired Ms. Nur just eight days before Ramadan would have ended.

The EEOC cites this as just one example of increased religious discrimination against Muslims after the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

This is the first case of religious discrimination filed with the EEOC’s Phoenix office after 9/11, although it is just now wending its way through the federal court system.

“For nearly six years, Alamo has continued to deny that it violated the law when it refused to accommodate Ms. Nur’s religious beliefs and fired her,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC Phoenix District Office. “Judge Silver had already disagreed with Alamo, as did the jury with its award today. Title VII protects people of all religious beliefs, and no one should ever have to sacrifice her religious beliefs in order to keep a job.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment. Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

 A number of cases have been brought in recent years regarding religious discrimination against Muslims. In Pennsylvania, the court ruled that two Muslim men must be permitted to wear facial hair, even though the government agency they worked for specified that employees must be clean-shaven.

Other cases have upheld the right of Muslim women to wear modest attire at work. Those cases have required employers to modify the dress code or reach a reasonable compromise—such as substituting loose-fitting pants for a uniform skirt – for Islamic women.

The discrimination in this case was so clear-cut, that Judge Roslyn Silver took the unusual step deciding that discrimination had occurred before referring the case to the jury. The judge ruled that Alamo had violated the law, and in the subsequent trial, which began on May 29, the jury was asked only to determine the amount of damages to be awarded.

According to EEOC Phoenix District Director Chester Bailey, “Employers need to remember that Title VII protects the religious practices and beliefs of all employees regardless of the nature of their faith.”

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