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In Liberal Utopia, everyone would get $5 million dollars for hurt feelings. Didn't you know that "hurt feelings" are a hot commodity in their world?
It's sad to see that you don't understand how our judicial system works. She didn't get 5 million because her suffering was so bad. The company was ordered to pay that amount as punishment for their employees' conduct. It's called punitive damages. With a big company like AT&T the judgement has to be high in order for it to be truly punitive. Smaller judgements will just be considered the cost of doing business and nothing will change. Large judgement are large because they are meant to sting. It has nothing to do with the injury to the plaintiff. Had she worked for a smaller company the judgement would probably have been smaller.
This is how our system is designed. We use our courts to enforce the law and mete out justice. We don't have oversight agencies with power to enforce the law. Like in the case of the EEOC their recourse is to sue and have the courts mete out the punishment. In short, the $5 million is really a fine, not really a reward.
I'm curious though, since you seem to think that the treatment of this woman is no big deal, would you also think it would just be a matter of "hurt feelings" if the boss was a Muslim who were mocking his Christian employee for being a Christian?
1. I understand her feelings were hurt, but sorry, she chose not to return to work for 9 months, that's essentially quitting. The "Firing" was symbolic, since it was obvious she didn't return to work.
2. I am fairly sure that not EVERY employee was mean. And while it was wrong to make the jokes and say the things that were said, she had choices she could make, sit idly by and whine about abuse, or grow a backbone, and deal with the situation, that she herself created.
3. Had she decided to stay at her job, charge the manager for assault and battery and had him arrested for assaulting her, I would have applauded her and stood by her. She chose to quit, because let's face it, when you don't return to work for 9 months, that's essentially quitting.
Yes, she deserves some type of compensation, what took place was wrong, 5 million is ridiculous, and I am glad that the state limits the award.
BTW LIZITA, what makes you think that AT&T, will be punished by a fine. They will raise prices that consumers pay and not feel a thing, or let go employees that need their jobs the most, to cover any award to this woman.
It's sad to see that you don't understand how our judicial system works. She didn't get 5 million because her suffering was so bad. The company was ordered to pay that amount as punishment for their employees' conduct. It's called punitive damages. With a big company like AT&T the judgement has to be high in order for it to be truly punitive. Smaller judgements will just be considered the cost of doing business and nothing will change. Large judgement are large because they are meant to sting. It has nothing to do with the injury to the plaintiff. Had she worked for a smaller company the judgement would probably have been smaller.
This is how our system is designed. We use our courts to enforce the law and mete out justice. We don't have oversight agencies with power to enforce the law. Like in the case of the EEOC their recourse is to sue and have the courts mete out the punishment. In short, the $5 million is really a fine, not really a reward.
I'm curious though, since you seem to think that the treatment of this woman is no big deal, would you also think it would just be a matter of "hurt feelings" if the boss was a Muslim who were mocking his Christian employee for being a Christian?
I understand the system perfectly well. Considering that Missouri law caps the amount of punitive damages, i'd say that making a statement with such a large "fine" was fruitless and pointless. How does AT&T suffer from this judgement when in fact it will 1)be appealed and 2) be capped? It doesn't. So your good friend the Muslim convert isn't that much better off today than she was a week ago and AT&T likely won't even blink at the final number levied against it.
Besides, whatever the final award is, it won't be absorbed. There will be recompense in some form or fashion. Perhaps even by you if you're an AT&T customer. That's how business works.
Although I do think she should be awarded compensation... but $5 million seems a bit excessive... Personally, I like to see some equation to limit these kind of compensation... like (annual salary x years to retirement divided by 2) + legal fees.... I would also ban these "no contingency" lawyers who try to eat up the settlements/awards...
Ms Bashir said in court documents that her work environment became hostile immediately after she converted, with her co-workers making harassing comments about her religion and referring to her hijab as 'that thing on her head.'
Poor baby. Embrace a religion that slaughters innocent people by the thousands and get all butt-hurt when someone refers to your head scarf as "that thing on her head". Cry me a river. Skip work for months and expect to get paid because your little feelings are hurt. OK.
Just goes to prove that you don't have to be a genius to serve on a jury.
Too bad that Missouri caps the amount that she'll be able to collect from AT&T. She deserves every bit of that $5 million.
"A Muslim woman won a $5million discrimination lawsuit against AT&T for what she called was repeated harassment of her religious beliefs.
Susann Bashir, who used to work at the company's office in Kansas City, Missouri said the abuse at her job began after she converted to Islam in 2005,
and that it boiled over in 2008 when her boss snatched her head scarf and exposed her hair. . . .'I was shocked. I thought, "What is going on?''' she told the newspaper.
'Nobody ever cared what I wore before. Nobody ever cared what religion I was before.'"
Poor baby. Embrace a religion that slaughters innocent people by the thousands and get all butt-hurt when someone refers to your head scarf as "that thing on her head". Cry me a river. Skip work for months and expect to get paid because your little feelings are hurt. OK.
Just goes to prove that you don't have to be a genius to serve on a jury.
If I had a boss and he reached to grab something off my body, he'd be lucky to walk away with his testicles still attached.
Couldn't your boss be a woman? Isn't this sexist?
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