EEOC Sees Rise in Discrimination Against Arab-Americans and Muslims
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - January 22, 2003
The United States
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has refocused the nation's attention on the intolerance experienced by Arab, Afghani, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Americans since the events of September 11, 2001.
Since the tragedy, the EEOC has produced a series of materials including fact sheets addressing frequently asked questions about the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs, special alerts, and most recently
a fact sheet regarding discrimination charges, in order to proactively prevent September 11-related workplace backlash against people who are, or are perceived to be, members of these communities.
Kareem Shora of the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has been pleased with the efforts of the EEOC following the tragedy. "The EEOC has been one of the most helpful federal agencies in the aftermath of 9/11. I would like to specifically recognize EEOC Vice Chair Paul Igasaki and Mr. Ken Morse at his office who were instrumental in addressing the affected communities' concerns over issues of employment discrimination."
Despite these efforts, including a Special Alert issued by the EEOC on September 14, 2001, which urged employers to be particularly attentive to "instances of harassment or intimidation against Arab-American and Muslim employees," and despite the federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination and require employers to reasonably accommodate employees' religious beliefs and practices, there has been a dramatic increase in the instances of discrimination (harassment and dismissal) in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
The EEOC, through its national data base, has been regularly tracking the number of charges received under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act alleging discrimination based on race, religion and national origin due to the events from September 11. These charges have been allocated the name "Process Type Z" charges and were filed against employers in an assortment of industries throughout the nation. According to the EEOC, between September 11, 2001 and December 11, 2002, 705 charges were filed against employers, of which 428 were related to discharge and 294 due to harassment.
As of December 11, 2002 the EEOC had resolved 507 of these charges, and had won almost $956,000 in settlements to 72 individuals.
A breakdown of the outcome of these cases is as follows:
- 114 merit resolutions
- 56 settlements
- 13 withdrawals with benefits
- 45 cause findings
- 7 successful conciliations
- 38 failed conciliations
- 317 closed with no cause findings
- 58 administrative closures
