Posted on 02/11/2005 5:17:32 PM PST by ambrose
Posted on Thu, Feb. 10, 2005
Muslim pilot wasn't discriminated against, judge says
BY PETER SHINKLE
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - A federal judge dismissed without a trial the claims of a Muslim pilot that Trans States Airlines, based in Bridgeton, Mo., discriminated against him when it fired him a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
U.S. Magistrate Thomas C. Mummert III ruled in a summary judgment that attorneys for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and pilot failed to provide evidence that Trans States acted out of a "discriminatory attitude."
Instead, there was "uncontroverted" evidence that Trans States fired the probationary pilot, Mohammed Shanif Hussein, because it was told he was in a bar while in uniform, a violation of the airline's rules, Mummert ruled Wednesday.
Trans States operates American Connection flights from Lambert Field and formerly provided feeder service for TWA. David Hayes, vice president and general counsel for Trans States, said Thursday airline was vindicated. "Trans States makes every effort possible to respect its employees and their diversity. Safety, however, is foremost, and we enforces safety rules strictly," Hayes said in a prepared statement.
The EEOC suit had described the firing as part of a "post 9/11 backlash," saying Hussein was fired because of his Islamic beliefs and Arabic appearance.
Lynn Bruner, the EEOC regional director, said she was disappointed by the ruling. The agency has not decided whether to appeal.
Hussein and his lawyer, Jerome Dobson, could not be reached for comment.
When the EEOC filed its the suit in July 2003, Hussein was working as a business manager for Mexicana Airlines. He was born in 1974, in Fiji, and moved to the U.S. in 1997. He was hired by Trans States in February 2001 as a probationary pilot.
That Sept. 11, the terrorist attacks led to the shutdown of aviation nationwide. Two days after the attacks, on Sept. 13, Hussein was in Schooner's, a restaurant with a bar in a Howard Johnson's motel near Lambert Field.
Daniel Reed, Trans States's vice president of flight operations, said in a sworn statement in the case that after Sept. 11 he was in a meeting when he received a call in which a person anonymously reported that Hussein had been seen in the bar at Howard Johnson's, in a pilot's uniform. Reed said he then made the decision to fire Hussein, and instructed one of his managers to terminate him the next day.
Meanwhile, a pilot then working for TWA also saw Hussein in the bar, and reported his presence, according to documents in the case.
On Sept. 18, Hussein received the termination letter, which noted that probationary employees "serve at the discretion of the company."
Later, when an EEOC investigator began looking into the case, Hussein heard for the first time that he was fired because of a report that he was in a bar in uniform.
In his sworn statement, Hussein said he may have walked through the bar in Schooner's, but he denied drinking any alcohol from Sept. 13 to 18.
Court documents include a statement from someone who said Hussein had admitted to him that he was drinking alcoholic beverages in Schooner's on Sept. 13, and that he was wearing a uniform shirt.
Judge Mummert ruled that whatever the truth of Hussein's dress and conduct that evening, there is no evidence that Trans States fabricated the phone call that Reed received.
Mummert also ruled that there was evidence that Trans States had fired other probationary pilots for violating rules.
"On the major issues of the case, we feel the decision of the court is the right one," said Trans States attorney James Foster Jr.
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PING!!
So much for no alcohol. I wonder if he has bacon for breakfast!
Any volunteers to fly on his airplane?
ambrose wrote:
the probationary pilot, Mohammed Shanif Hussein,
Any volunteers to fly on his airplane?
--> I'd be the first one off that plane! LOL
I could never become a Muslim. I like BBQ'd pork ribs soooo much.
"Hi, I'm your pilot today, and don't worry, I'm a Muslim."
Wouldn't that make you comfortable on September 15th, 2001?
During the probationary period of employent at every place I have EVER worked, you can be fired for ANY reason at ANY time. He knew this when he accepted employment, and accepted it under those terms. Being Muslim a week after 9/11 was a good enough reason.
1 pilot with a lawsuit vs. 200 victims' families with a lawsuit. Do the math.
PING!
"Good morning. I am your Captain, Mustaffa Khalid and we are currently flying southerly at 25,000ft with a visibility of 10 miles. And, oh buy the way...ALLLAAAHHHH AAKKBARR!!!!"
Damn, we have been in the news twice in one day, where are my forged memos??
dotsero - welcome to Free Republic
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