AT&T to pay fired Muslim woman $5M for discrimination

Susann Bashir won a multimillion dollar lawsuit against AT&T for harassment she suffered at work because of her clothing once she converted to the Muslim religion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Muslim woman who was fired from her job with AT&T says years of harassment hit a peak when her boss snatched her scarf from her head and exposed her hair.

A jury awarded former Kansas City resident Susann Bashir $5 million in punitive damages Thursday, along with $120,000 in lost wages and other actual damages.

The Kansas City Star reports the award appears to be the largest jury verdict in a workplace discrimination case in Missouri history.

Bashir says the harassment began soon after she converted to Islam in 2005. She was fired after she left work in 2008 because of stress after filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and then didn't come back for nine months.

AT&T says it plans to appeal.