Lawsuit alleges Amazon executives discriminated against and fired Muslim tech manager

Rasa - A former Amazon.com manager in Michigan is suing the online retail giant, alleging that he was discriminated against, subjected to falsified performance reviews and later fired, primarily because he is a Muslim of Syrian descent

News ID: 424325

Date: 15 October 2016 - 23:39

RNA - A former Amazon.com manager in Michigan is suing the online retail giant, alleging that he was discriminated against, subjected to falsified performance reviews and later fired, primarily because he is a Muslim of Syrian descent.

Abdullah Haydar, a former manager in the company’s Seattle and Detroit offices from 2012 to 2015, on Friday morning filed suit against Amazon and three of his former supervisors — Garret Gaw, Peter Faricy and Joel Mosby — in U.S. District Court Eastern Michigan, Southern Division.

Haydar alleges that disparaging remarks were made about him during his time at Amazon, including “ethnically and religious tinged comments” about his marriage, including one alleged comment that indicated that Muslims do not treat their wives properly.

Amazon declined to comment on the case, citing a policy of not discussing active litigation. But the company did indicate that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Haydar’s concerns, found no violation of law, and dismissed his charge, and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights accepted the EEOC’s decision and also dismissed his complaint.

Vicki Levengood, communications director for Michigan Department of Civil Rights, confirmed that a complaint was filed and processed earlier this year by EEOC. EEOC did not return a phone call requesting comment, and EEOC said on its website that cases are unavailable for third parties, including media organizations.

Haydar’s attorneys declined to comment on the case.

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