A jury in the United States on Friday awarded $240,000 to two Muslim men who claimed they were fired from an Illinois trucking company after refusing to deliver alcohol.
A judge found Morton-based Star Transport Inc violated the religious beliefs of Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdikarim Hassan Bulshale. A trial to determine whether they were entitled to damages ended on Oct 20 with the jury’s judgement.
A 2013 lawsuit filed by US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the men were fired in 2009 after they wouldn’t deliver alcohol because it was against their religious values as practising Muslims.
Chief US District Judge James Shadid had found in favor of the commission in March, after the company admitted liability. June Calhoun, one of the commission’s attorneys on the case, said Star Transport didn’t provide discrimination training to human resources staff, leading to “catastrophic results” for the two men. “They suffered real injustice that needed to be addressed,” Calhoun said in a statement.
