Government Sues Rizza Cadillac For Harassment Of Arab And Muslim Workers

(STMW) -- Arab and Muslim employees of Rizza Cadillac were subjected to harassment and offensive slurs, such as "terrorist," the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday in filing a lawsuit against the Tinley Park dealership.

The EEOC said that three employees of the dealership filed complaints with the commission, alleging that along with slurs, which included "terrorist," and "sand n-----," managers made mocking and insulting references to the Qur'an. Some of the offensive comments were made in front of other managers, Rizza ownership and customers of the dealership, the EEOC said in its lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

The three, as well as other Arab and Muslim employees of the dealership, complained to superiors about the harassment, but the dealership didn't act on those complaints, the EEOC alleges. The slurs and harassment began in early January 2007, the commission said.

The EEOC said that after it found "reasonable cause" in July 2012 that employees had been subjected to harassment, it attempted to resolve the matter with Rizza, and that conciliation talks began at that time and continued to January of this year, without a suitable settlement being reached.

The dealership did not respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)