A Missouri jury has awarded a Muslim woman $5 million in punitive damages in a workplace discrimination and harassment case against AT&T Inc. (T), the Kansas City Star reported Saturday on its website. The woman, who had worked as a fiber optics network builder for more than 10 years, said she endured religious discrimination nearly every day of the last three years she worked in the company's downtown Kansas City office. In one incident, she described a routine meeting with a supervisor in his office--after she had started pursuing a religious discrimination case against her employer--during which he snatched her head scarf and exposed her hair. The Jackson County, Mo., jury also awarded Susann Bashir $120,000 in lost wages and other actual damages. According to the Star, AT&T said it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. The newspaper also reported the amount Bashir stands to receive will be much less than $5 million, however, because Missouri law caps such awards at five times the actual damage amount plus attorney fees. Full story at: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/04/3594755/muslim-woman-gets-huge-award-in.html -Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2800
