Muslim group claims religious discrimination against employees by DFW Airport contractor
A Dallas-Fort Worth Muslim civil rights organization outlined claims of religious discrimination by an airport contractor targeting Muslim employees at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in a news conference Thursday.
Former and current employees of Prospect Airport Services — a contractor at DFW Airport — have come forward with their claims of discrimination, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.
Prospect Airport Services has not responded to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram request for comment.
Prospect Airport Services provides services including ticket and gate agents, helping passengers off planes, accompanying traveling minors, baggage handling, and cabin and cargo services, according to its website.
The press conference included statements from CAIR-DFW chapter board member Nahela Morales, an outline of the claims by attorney Omar El-Halwagi of The Anti-Discrimination Attorney PLLC, and a statement from a former employee of Prospect Airport Services, Rola Abunasser.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims, according to the organization’s website.
El-Halwagi is representing three Dallas-Fort Worth plaintiffs in the case. Three managers from Prospect Airport Services have played a role in Islamophobia and discrimination, according to their claims, said El-Halwagi.
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity), and national origin. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigates charges of discrimination against employers if it finds cause to believe that a Title VII violation has occurred.
Prospect Airport Services supervisors intentionally denied Muslim employees the right to take breaks at sunset to break their daily 16-hour fasts during Ramadan 2022, according to the claims. Ramadan is a Muslim holy month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The company also allegedly placed a sign in English and Arabic that threatened the employment status of workers who tried to take off Eid-ul-Fitr, one of two major Muslim holidays, according to the allegations.
“There was not a doubt in my mind that not only was she targeted for being a Muslim woman working at Prospect, but that she was not the only one,” said El-Halwagi about Abunasser. “In my conversations with Ms. Abunasser, the other plaintiffs who’ve come forward and other employees at Prospect Airport Services, it has become increasingly clear that there is an environment of hostility towards Muslim employees.”
Prospect Airport Services has not accommodated prayer services, according to El-Halwagi. When Muslim employees have attended prayer services, managers harassed the employees during their prayer time and made it increasingly difficult for them to attend even if they’re not scheduled to be working at the time of prayer, he said.
El-Halwagi also alleged that managers refused to accommodate Muslim employees who requested time off to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that comes after Ramadan.
El-Halwagi referred to a sign that Abunasser took a picture of, which was placed at Prospect Airport Services.
The sign stated any unauthorized absence on May 1, May 2, and May 3 of 2022 would result in “strict disciplinary action.” The three days were the Eid ul-Fitr holiday.
“Prospect Airport Services has made their discriminatory nature known both in the way it treats employees, but also in writing,” said El-Halwagi.
“This is textbook religious discrimination and profiling,” said Morales. “To have a sign placed communicating strict disciplinary action for employees who take off Eid-ul-Fitr, a Muslim holiday, is just a clear and heartbreaking display of discrimination from a company with which our city has a contractual relationship.”
Prospect Airport Services has been dependent on the fact that its primarily immigrant-based employees are unaware of their work rights and are afraid to do anything about religious discrimination, El-Halwagi said.
“Every day I was able to help people, everyone from old women to young children, traveling alone and immigrants who didn’t speak English,” Abunasser said. “But when it came to the way I was treated, there was no one there to help me.”
Abunasser was not allowed to take a break for her fast during Ramadan, she said. Abunasser worked for Prospect Airport Services from December 2021 to May 2022.
Abunasser’s promotion was revoked because managers had concerns regarding her husband’s schedule, she said.
“I continuously spoke up for my rights until they silenced me, when they fired me,” Abunasser said. “I have been heartbroken and felt so alone. But today I am honored to stand here and listen to the so many people who use their voices to speak up for me and the other Muslims who have worked at Prospect Airport Services.”
“We need to come together to make a clear message that this is not the kind of discrimination that we tolerate here in the DFW,” said El-Halwagi. “We will stand together to ensure that individuals like my client, Rola Abunasser, get the justice they deserve.”
He urged current or former Muslim employees of Prospect Airport Services who have faced discrimination to contact The Anti-Discrimination Attorney PLLC by Feb. 23 at (945) 251-7777 or at omar@antidiscriminationattorney.com.
