In this real-life case, a Muslim employee performs poorly and is terminated. He sues the company for discrimination, noting that his boss made derogatory comments about Arabs and terrorism. Who won?

The facts: 
A supervisor cited and documented the poor performance of an employee of Arab descent. After issuing at least two warnings about the performance and confronting the employee with records that verified the charges, the supervisor fired the employee. The employee came back with a lawsuit noting that the supervisor had asked the employee if he knew any terrorists and whether he was barred from traveling on airplanes. Given that, the employee argued, it was clear that the supervisor had fired him because of his heritage, and not for his performance.

The employer said:
The company noted that the supervisor had produced ample evidence of low performance that warranted termination. Although the supervisor admitted making the terrorism-related comments, the company insisted that the comments were offhand and played no part in the decision to fire the employee.

Who won the case?

 Answer: The company. 

Why: The supervisor had kept a record of the employee’s performance problems and the warnings about what would happen if the performance didn’t improve. Since there was no disputing the record, the court said the supervisor had solid backing for the action.

As for the supervisor’s comments, the court noted they were in bad taste and insulting, and might have supported the discrimination charge if there hadn’t been sufficient documentation about the employee’s performance. However, the comments weren’t enough to support the charge of discrimination when real performance problems entered into the decision to terminate.

Cite: Claude v. Harbor Hospital Center.

Tags: arabs, discrimination, muslim, performance