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Ruling backs Somali refugees fired at airport

Somali refugees who lost their jobs last year cleaning planes at Atlanta's airport were discriminated against because of their national origin and Muslim religion, the Equal Employment Opportunity said in a recent ruling.

A post - 9/11 rule at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport requiring employees to take a test in English to obtain a security badge resulted in discrimination based on national origin, the Atlanta office of the EEOC said. In previous years the Somali workers had been allowed a translator while taking the multiple choice test.

The agency also found that a supervisor for Aramark Aviation Services, the company that managed the cleaners, "made disparaging remarks towards employees," the EEOC wrote in a June 28 determination.

The commission sent letters to Delta Air Lines, Hartsfield-Jackson and Aramark Aviation Services explaining the discrimination ruling.

An Aramark supervisor complained about the scarves the women wore on their heads, said Safio Mohamed, 41, a refugee who lost her job cleaning planes. The conduct was inappropriate and based on the employees' Muslim religion, the EEOC said.

"We used to wear the uniform, but we used to cover our hair, and they didn't like us to do that," Mohamed said.

An Aramark manager at Hartsfield-Jackson did not return phone calls seeking comment. The company and Delta, both considered employers, were found to have discrimination against the group based on national origin and religion.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said that as a tenant of the airport, Delta is required to comply with the airport's security plan, which required the English-fluency test for issuance of the access badges.

The airport's rule was found to have discriminated against the group based on national origin.

The airport is reviewing the case, Hartsfield-Jackson spokeswoman Felicia Browder said. There has been no decision to change the airport's English-only test for security badges, she said.

Mohamed and two other women eventually found jobs cleaning cars for Hertz Rent A Car at the airport. Others are still unemployed, Mohammed said.

The next step is for the group of 12 Somali women and two men and their employers to negotiate a settlement, said Ali Omar, executive director of the Georgia Somali Community, a spokesman for the group.

"If that doesn't happen, then they have to go to the court," he said.

Under the federal Civil Rights Act the case would go to a jury, said Debra Schwartz, an attorney with Thompson, Rollins, Schwartz and Borowski. She is one of the lawyers representing the group. There is a $300,000 cap for awards for punitive damages and emotional distress, Schwartz said, but no caps for discrimination based on race and national origin.

Some Somalis who passed the test are still working at the airport as plane cleaners, Omar said.

After the English policy took effect last year, some Mexican and Vietnamese workers contacted Omar because they also lost their jobs.

"There are a lot of internationals who were affected the same way, but they don't speak out," Omar said. "They just go home and look for another job.

The Somali refugees worked about seven years cleaning planes. They were dismissed in January 2004 because they could not pass the security test given in English. A passing grade was needed to acquire a badge to enter the secure area of the airport, where the planes are parked.

Hartfield-Jackson officials say that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks they moved to tighten rules on airport security badges. One way was to require employees to take the test in English when renewing the badges. An airport spokesman said it was necessary for anyone with a badge to speak English so they could follow instructions and offer assistance in case of an emergency. The airport also said it got rid of interpreters because it had a reasonable suspicion that four years ago some of the interpreters may have provided the correct answers to the test, the EEOC documents show. The agency responded that the airport never proved its suspicions and waited three years to forbid interpreters.

Hartfield-Jackson shows workers a video about security rules before they take the test. The airport also submits workers' fingerprints to the FBI to weed out criminals.

Airport around the country have different policies on how to give badges. Some allow interpreters; others don't require a test but offer security classes.