Egyptian Heritage Harassment Lawsuit

In a July 30, 2009 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) Press Release, EEOC attorneys announced filing of a national origin discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against a Las Vegas hotel.  According to the EEOC Press Release, the EEOC claims that the hotel violated federal law by creating a hostile work environment for an Egyptian kitchen employee through a daily barrage of derogatory comments, including, for example, comments and slurs from supervisors and coworkers such as being called “f_____ Egyptian” and being told to “go back to Egypt,” as well as being targeted with graffiti, which he was then required to wash off.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-30-09d.html .  As further described in the Press Release, the Egyptian food deliverer made repeated complaints about the harassment, but the defendants allegedly failed to take effective measures to stop it, and, instead, supervisors retaliated against him, which included disciplinary write-ups and suspension.  National origin discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  In this regard, EEOC attorneys filed the harassment lawsuit after first attempting to reach a voluntary out of court settlement.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release stated that “The EEOC takes retaliation very seriously because workers who speak up and speak out against unlawful discrimination should not be forced to endure more problems because they have done the right thing.”