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Are you confused about the law's definition of religious discrimination?
Are you confused about the law's definition of religious discrimination?
A Charlotte, N.C.-based equipment rental company will pay
$64,641 to settle a religious harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just days before the case was scheduled for a jury trial.
The EEOC had sued Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., the nationwide commercial rental company, on behalf of a Muslim worker who was allegedly discriminated
against because of his Islamic faith at a company facility in
Gaithersburg, Md.
In its suit (EEOC v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., Civil Action
No. PJM 04-cv-2978) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the EEOC charged that Clinton Ingram was subjected to derogatory comments and slurs based on his religion, Islam. The comments, according to the EEOC, included suggestions that Ingram might be a terrorist because he is Muslim. The suit alleged that various other hostile incidents were also directed at Ingram because of his religion, such as subjecting him to an anti-Muslim cartoon. The lawsuit
settled just a few days before it was scheduled to go to trial.
In addition to paying over $64,000 in compensatory damages to Ingram, Sunbelt must also take other actions set forth in the consent
decree resolving the case, including providing anti- discrimination
training to its Gaithersburg staff and posting a notice about the settlement. Further, the company is enjoined from engaging in religious
harassment and must report complaints of religious harassment at itsGaithersburg facility to the EEOC for monitoring.
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