Judge Allows Yemeni Muslim’s Discrimination Case Against US Steel to Proceed to Trial
Judge Gershwin Drain of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied U.S. Steel’s Motion for Summary Judgment, finding Muflihi had demonstrated a prima facie case of retaliation under Title VII and Michigan’s civil rights laws.
Muflihi’s 2022 complaint, filed by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), alleges that he faced persistent harassment, including being called a “terrorist” and the “shoe bomber” by coworkers at U.S. Steel’s Great Lakes Works plant.
He also claims he was denied training and overtime opportunities and was retaliated against after reporting the discrimination to human resources and the corporate ethics hotline.
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Judge Drain’s decision referenced evidence that U.S. Steel’s human resources manager was aware of the harassment but failed to intervene.
Furthermore, the judge noted that Muflihi was terminated following a flawed investigation into unrelated complaints by a retiree, concluding that a jury could find his firing was retaliatory.
CAIR-MI welcomed the court’s decision. Executive Director Dawud Walid stated, “This decision shows that even large corporations cannot act with impunity when they allow employees to be harassed and retaliated against in the workplace.”
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Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure emphasized the broader implications. With this ruling, U.S. Steel must now defend their failure to protect Mr. Muflihi from pervasive harassment and explain their actions to a jury, noted the official.
Source: Agencies
