Ex-Metro Transit employee claims religious discrimination in lawsuit

A former Metro Transit worker is suing the Metropolitan Council claiming religious discrimination and workplace retaliation drove him out of his job A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court alleges Jihad Hamoud who is Muslim left his job in after repeated questioning of his religious accommodations discrimination based on his faith and disciplinary measures from management after reporting problems It also alleges management sent police with Hamoud to pray after repeatedly declining his requests to do so during a discipline meeting with management The Met Council can t comment on ongoing litigation spokesman John Schadl revealed in a report Metro Transit is just one facility run by the regional planning organization The lawsuit comes after an assessment by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights unveiled probable cause that the Met Council violated state antidiscrimination law and retaliated against Hamoud The council appealed the November ruling but Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero reaffirmed her decision in January this year Minneapolis law firm Storms Dworak brought the lawsuit on Hamoud s behalf Hamoud had been an employee of the Met Council since when he was hired as a Metro Transit bus driver according to court documents He transferred to a job cleaning and maintaining Metro Transit facilities in Work was based out of a central hub in St Paul While in that position Hamoud experienced multiple incidents of religious discrimination the lawsuit proposes In one situation detailed in the lawsuit a supervisor blamed the bathrooms becoming dirty on Muslims who pray in there and wet up the whole place and throw tissue and paper towels all over the place and get the toilets clogged ' Hamoud recounted the supervisor Muslims must pray in clean settings the lawsuit reported In another development according to the lawsuit a Met Council janitor described Hamoud that Muslims were creating problems and leading to a conflict with Christianity Problems continued but when Hamoud met with managers to discuss his concerns about religious discrimination he was placed on administrative leave according to the lawsuit When Hamoud returned to work a manager accused Hamoud of driving past him and the janitor to intimidate him and later called Hamoud into a meeting with two police officers present according to the lawsuit The manager allegedly accused Hamoud of insubordination As they waited for a union representative Hamoud demanded to pray which as a practicing Muslim he is required to do five times a day The manager allegedly directed the two police officers to keep an eye on Hamoud while he prayed causing him to among other things feel degraded humiliated disrespected vilified and discriminated against Hamoud was placed on a five-day suspension without pay and escorted off the premises In a later meeting between Hamoud s union and Met Council the group s assistant director of Facilities Maintenance commented the situation was blown out of proportion and boundary ed on ridiculous the lawsuit insists Hamoud returned to work but continued to experience discrimination and eventually resigned in May He is seeking a total of in damages and any other relief a court deems appropriate Related Articles Jerome Johnson A new era for Riverview mobility St Paul weighs consolidating several downtown offices at Osborn building State seeks to cancel permit for St Paul s Northern Iron foundry St Paul s Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on public schoolyard Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with participant