Arab Man Wins Lawsuit Against Ford For Discrimination

DEARBORN, MI — An Arab man who says he was discriminated against for his ethnic background has successfully sued Ford Motor Company and won $16.8 million, according to a media report. The lawsuit was against the automaker and two supervisors and centered around the the man’s accent and ability to speak English. He was reportedly belittled and forced to work in a hostile work environment before ultimately being terminated.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Faisal G. Khalaf, from Lebanon, was retaliated against due to the workplace discrimination he faced since around 2014.

"There was a high-level executive at Ford Motor Co. that my client reported to ... that would berate him and criticize him week after week about his English," Carol Laughbaum of Sterling Attorneys told The Free Press. “It wasn’t a matter of ‘Please, can you repeat this?’ but ‘What is wrong with you? Why don’t you understand this?’ ”

Khalif worked at Ford since 1999. He won the suit following an 11-day trial in the Eastern District of Michigan. A representative from Ford told The Detroit Free Press that they disagree with the verdict and are looking for ways to get it "corrected."

Read the full story at The Detroit Free Press.