UPS supervisor spied on Muslim employee in the bathroom... and then demonstrated 'how we urinate in this country'

By Emily Epstein | Dailymail | July 11, 2012 | [Original Article]

"A Muslim UPS worker claims his colleagues and managers routinely humiliated and harassed him - including spying on him while he went to the toilet.

Palestinian-American Ashraf Sarandah, 35, has filed an official complaint against UPS with the Equal Employment Opportunity commission for routinely discriminating against him, including one instance in which his boss followed him to the bathroom to watch him urinate.

Mr Sarandah, who has a bladder and kidney condition, was then questioned for the manner in which he used the toilet, prompting a demonstration by his supervisor in the 'American' manner of peeing: standing up at a urinal...

...His attorney Michael Hanna called UPS's conduct 'horrendous.' The most heinous instance of harassment was this year, when a manager followed him to the bathroom to watch him use the toilet... [Read More] 

... Some Muslims believe that getting urine on one's body or clothing is a sin, so men will often refrain from using a urinal, opting for a toilet instead...

...Mr Sarandah hopes that his complaint can lift the lid on what he says is UPS' blind eye to discrimination. 'Today I file these charges against UPS to help make sure that no employee has to face racial slurs, harassment, and fear that their management is secretly watching them use the restroom,' he said to the MailOnline..."

UPS employee alleges anti-Muslim workplace environment

By Anika Palm | The Orlando Sentinel | July 10, 2012 | [Original Article]

"ORLANDO, Fla. - An engineer for UPS in Orlando filed a federal complaint Tuesday, alleging that the company allowed workers to spy on him in a restroom and otherwise harass him because of his Arab background and Muslim faith.

Ashraf Sarandah, a Palestinian-American, claimed he was called derogatory names and denied promotions at UPS because of his faith and ethnicity, though he was not specific. He filed discrimination charges against the parcel delivery company with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission..." [Read More]

"...Sarandah said he complained to the human-resources department at UPS, but Hanna declined to explain the company’s response. If the EEOC certifies the complaint after investigating, Sarandah will be able to file a federal lawsuit against the company in about 180 days, Hanna said.

"This conduct is un-American," said Hassan Shibly, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Shibly said other former UPS employees with Arab heritage have come forward with similar complaints, though he did not provide specifics.

In a separate incident last year, a Muslim subcontractor alleged that UPS in Sweden discriminated against him because supervisors told him to shave his beard, which he said he had for religious reasons."

CAIR Florida, Morgan & Morgan, File Harassment Charges Against UPS

Orlando UPS Employee Alleges Anti-Arab Bias

Anika Myers Palm | Orlando Sentinel | July 10, 2012 | [Original Article]

  

Today's Orlando Press Conference

 An Orlando employee of UPS filed a federal complaint today alleging that the company allowed a hostile environment to exist because of his ethnicity and faith.

Ashraf Sarandah, 33, said he has been denied promotions, called names and that co-workers and supervisors spied on him in the restroom at the parcel-delivery-service company. He has filed discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Sarandah, a Palestinian-American who is also a Muslim, said the harassment has been a steady problem during at least six of the eight years he has been employed by UPS as an industrial engineer and planner.

 "This conduct is un-American," said Hassan Shibly, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations... [Watch Video]

Muslim Worker Claims Management at UPS Watched Him Urinate

Claire Gordon | AOL News | July 10,2012 | [Full Article]

...Sarandah says that in February he went to use the bathroom, and was followed by two managers. Deeply uncomfortable, Sarandah says that he turned around and left, even though he has a kidney and bladder condition for which he was previously hospitalized. "Employees should not have to fear that their employers are kneeling under them and watching them urinate," says Shibly. "It's frankly disgusting on UPS' part."... 

Ashraf's lawyers say that they aren't surprised that a Muslim should be the latest target of abuse at UPS. Harassment and discrimination of Muslims took a turn for the worse a few years ago, says Shibly. A month after the Sept. 11 attacks, 47 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Islam, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. When that same question was asked in 2010, only 37 percent said the same.

"What I really find fascinating about this case is that UPS is supposed to be a worldwide company," Shibly added. "They serve the world. They should be all about diversity. It's a global corporation." [Read Full Details]