Osama Saleh, a former stock clerk at Bushwick’s now-closed Pretty Girl clothing store, was awarded $4.7 million by a federal jury last Friday, after his managers dismissed complaints of workplace harassment.
The lawsuit states that security guard James Robinson repeatedly called Saleh “Bin Laden” and a “terrorist.” Saleh, who is from Yemen, stated that Robinson constantly ranted about “dirty Arabs” and eventually punched Saleh, fracturing his cheekbone. While Robinson plead guilty to the assault, he and his employers ignored the harassment. Pretty Girl vice president Victor Lavy even stated that the behavior was not inappropriate and not a big deal. He said that that the “terrorist” slur was not in violation of company policy, even though pervasive, intimidating, hostile and abusive conduct as well as being subjected to “racially negative language and stereotypes” by a coworker is workplace harassment, according to the New York City Bar association. (Image: Google Maps)
