Muslim employees allege harassment

DALLAS, TX – An Indian American and a Syrian American who worked at the global giant Halliburton Energy Services were harassed by their fellow employees for their Muslim faith and countries of origin.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which levellled these charges in a lawsuit filed on July 3 in US District Court in Dallas, Texas, is seeking compensation for both men based on past and future financial loss.

Mir Ali, originally from India, and Hassan Snoubar, from Syria, suffered discriminatory behavior for more than three years by Halliburton staff and supervisors, claimed the suit. Both were operator assistants at Halliburton’s Kilgore facility in Texas; neither man currently works for the company.

Snoubar was allegedly fired after reporting the harassment in 2015. It is unclear when Ali left the corporation.

According to the lawsuit, Ali, an operator assistant, was subjected to taunts and name calling about his national origin and religion. Snoubar was frequently called derogatory names by employees such as “camel jockey,” was said to be a “terrorist” because of his ethnicity, and was accused of being complicit with ISIS.

Snoubar’s and Ali’s co-workers regularly broadcast derogatory name calling over radio headsets to other workers, and one of defendant’s supervisors allegedly used the company radio to refer to both Snoubar and Ali as terrorists, said the suit.

The lawsuit also seeks punitive financial damages and compensation for financial losses stemming from the men’s “humiliation, emotional pain and suffering, stress, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life.”