Muslim-American Files Bias Suit Against Wal-Mart

An Arab- and Muslim-American has filed a $12 million lawsuit against a Detroit-area Wal-Mart store that caters to his community, saying employees discriminated against him and fired him because of his background.

Louay Kezy (loo-AY’ KEE’-zee) of Dearborn filed his suit last week in Wayne County Circuit Court. The 43-year-old accuses Wal-Mart and three employees at its Dearborn store of violating his civil rights through threats, harassment and dismissal for complaining about the employees’ conduct.

A spokesman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart had no immediate comment.

The store opened in March with the area’s large Arab and Muslim population in mind. It offers hundreds of items geared toward them. It also opened with 35 Arabic-speaking employees and hired a local Arab-American educator to teach the staff cultural sensitivity.