GREENSBORO, N.C. - A central North Carolina company fired an Egyptian man because he spoke English with an Arabic accent, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Ahmed Ibrahim, who worked for Sheffield Financial LLC, a retail-finance company based in Clemmons.
According to the lawsuit, Ibrahim was hired through a temporary agency and reported to work in September 2005. But he was fired a few hours after he arrived because of his accent, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit seeks back pay for Ibrahim and punitive damages. It also seeks to stop Sheffield from using discriminatory practices.
"Employers cannot terminate or refuse to hire a person because of a foreign accent unless the accent materially interferes with the ability to do the job. We found that was not the case here," said Reuben Daniels Jr., the director of the EEOC's Charlotte office.
A spokeswoman for BB&T Corp., which owns Sheffield, declined to comment.
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