Amazing Race Contestants File Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

News reports that two former contestants on the Amazing Race have filed an employment discrimination lawsuit alleging that they were not hired due to their race and religion.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate in terms of employment of the basis of an individual’s race, color, sex, national origin or religion. Congress has also enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act to prohibit disability discrimination and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Illegal discriminatory actions may include a wide variety of employment actions such firing, not promoting or not hiring someone based on one of the one of these prohibited categories.

If you have questions about employment discrimination or believe that you have been treated improperly at your place of work based on your race or religion, it is important to consult with an experienced Atlanta race discrimination lawyer right away.

In the recent employment discrimination lawsuit, the former contestants Idries and Jamil Abdur-Rahman, who are Muslim African-Americans who practice Islam, worked as independent contractors at the OSF Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Illinois, while also maintaining their own private practices. The brothers applied to become employed by the hospital, and as part of the employment process, they were asked to sign an agreement stating that they would adhere to the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” if they were to be hired.

At one point, the Chief Medical Officer told them that the hospital planned to make an “impressive offer to hire them” after the brothers assured them that they would follow the religious directives.

However, the two men were later turned down for the job and told that the hospital had decided not to hired them – allegedly because they felt the brothers were “unlikely to abide by” the religious and ethical directives.

The brothers are seeking back pay, damages and other costs.

This employment lawsuit has just been filed. However the allegations – if true – demonstrate how race and religious biases continue to influence employment decisions. Allowing these biases to affect employment is often illegal discrimination.

For more information, or if you believe you may improperly discriminated against at work, please contact the dedicated Atlanta employment discrimination lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.