Plaza Hotel managers harassed Muslim workers with terrorist epithets

Evidence

An earlier case involved twelve Muslim, Arab, and South Asian workers who filed a claim with the EEOC against the “severe and pervasive harassment” that they underwent at the Plaza Hotel months after the terrorist attacks. According to the suit, managers wrote “Osama,” “Binladin,” “Alkada,” and “Taliban” instead of the employees’ actual names when handing out key holders with room keys. The employees were repeatedly called “terrorist,” “Osama,” “Al Queda [sic],” “Taliban,” and “Dumb Muslim.” They were accused of destroying the World Trade Center and cursed at for ruining the country. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 708

Categorization

• SEED: The detail of managers writing ‘Osama’ and ‘Binladin’ on key holders instead of workers’ real names is a vivid, humanizing case study for an article on workplace Islamophobia post-9/11.