Halliburton to pay $275,000 to Indian, Syrian-origin employees

Halliburton, a leading American multinational corporation will pay USD 275,000 to two of its Muslim employees from India and Syria. Reportedly, the two employees were subjected to intense racial and religious discrimination. They were allegedly accused of having connections with terrorists by the company's employees. Notably, the Houston-based company is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry with over 55,000 employees.

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Lawsuit reveals workers were subjected to a hostile environment

The company has agreed to pay the amount and furnish significant relief to settle a national origin and religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The lawsuit revealed that the oilfield workers Mir Ali, a Muslim co-worker of Indian origin and  Hassan Snoubar of Syrian-origin were subjected to a hostile environment. Snoubar began working for the company as an assistant oil field operator in approximately August 2012, according to the EEOC's suit. Snoubar, who is a US citizen was subjected to taunts and name-calling during his term of employment. According to the lawsuit, he was frequently called derogatory names and was accused of being associated with ISIS and terrorism by supervisors and coworkers. Ali was also subjected to a similar environment. Both of them were continuously criticized about cultural attire and their appearance. Snoubar expressed his concerns to management and human resources and was then fired as retaliation. The EEOC lodged its lawsuit in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

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The company paid USD 275, 000 in monetary relief 

The company paid USD 275, 000 in monetary relief to both the workers and the official order instructs Halliburton from engaging in national origin or religious discrimination or retaliation in the future. The company has also agreed to provide training on national origin and religious discrimination to managerial and human resources employees. It has also been asked to report future complaints of national origin and religious discrimination to the EEOC. Joel Clark, EEOC Senior Trial attorney said the employees should be able to come to the workplace without any fears or intimidation based on where they belong from or what religion they pursue.

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