Wawa Discriminates Against Muslim Employee

Getting to America under the immigration process can be long and arduous, but unfortunately, the difficulties migrants face don’t always stop with citizenship. In a newly filed federal court case, a Pemberton man has issued a lawsuit against his former employer, stating that while he worked at the Wawa, he was discriminated against for several years, and then fired and wrongfully arrested for stealing because he spoke up about the offensive actions of his superiors. Initial Problems: Safet Hajra, originally from Kosovo and a practitioner of the Muslim faith, began working at the Wawa in 2010, and began to experience several discriminatory effects shortly thereafter. The following are some of the issues he encountered from the start: • Moved to a gas station attendant without a title change • Required to perform janitorial tasks that other gas station attendants did not do • Given used uniforms rather than new ones • Paid less than other gas station attendants The Second Wave: Throughout the above, Hajra did not complain about the discrimination and continued to work at the Wawa. However, the issues came to a head when in 2012 a new manager took over, and repeatedly admonished Hajra in front of his co-workers and customers, telling him to “speak English”. According to the suit, Hajra did use English exclusively at work, and he had never had any issues with a customer not understanding his speech. The Fallout: After bearing the brunt of the new manager’s repeated comments, Hajra reported the comments to a store manager. Days later, he was questioned, fired, and criminally charged with stealing money from the store. According to the Wawa branch, he took $353 in cash after voiding a customer’s charge using a manager’s social security number. Later in court proceedings, the charge of theft was dismissed, and overall he was able to plead down to a minor municipal ordinance violation.

The Suit: Hajra’s lawyer, Swati Kothari has insisted in the suit that the timing of the theft allegations make it clear that this was a direct retaliation for his speaking up about the discriminatory comments. Kothari states that he has suffered great emotional and financial distress following the police arrest for theft and that the actions by the store were “outrageous and malicious.” It claims that he was discriminated against on the basis of his religion and nationality. The suit is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional stress, punitive damages, court fees, as well as an injunction that would prevent Wawa from acting in this manner again with other employees. *** If you are seeking assistance with employment-based immigration, the Law Offices of David Kaplan can help. With over 20 years of experience, I will fight for your rights and give you expert counsel. We are located in Center City Philadelphia, and additionally provide Spanish-language services for our clients. For a free phone consultation, give me a call at (973) 426-0021 today to learn more about our practices and how they can be beneficial to you.