Sacked Muslims awarded $240k over alcohol delivery

A jury has awarded two Muslim truck drivers a total of US$240,000 after they were fired from their jobs for refusing to deliver alcohol.

The men were fired from their job as truck drivers at Star Transport after refusing to transport alcohol in 2009 because it violated their religious beliefs, which amounted a “real injustice” according to attorneys with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which fought their case.

Following a trial in Chicago, Judge James E Shadid, the chief judge of the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois, found in favour of the EEOC after Star Transport admitted liability in March 2015.

A jury took just 45 minutes to return their verdict, awarding Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdkiarim Hassan Bulshale $20,000 each in compensatory damages and $100,000 each in punitive damages, as well as $1,500 each in back pay.

“This is an awesome outcome”, said EEOC attorney June Calhoun following the result. “Star Transport failed to provide any discrimination training to its human resources personnel, which led to catastrophic results for these employees. They suffered real injustice that needed to be addressed.

“By this verdict, the jury remedied the injustice by sending clear messages to Star Transport and other employers that they will be held accountable for their unlawful employment practices. Moreover, they signaled to Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Bulshale that religious freedom is a right for all Americans.”