A jury has awarded nearly $17 million to a former Ford engineer who sued the automaker for discrimination because he says two supervisors repeatedly berated and criticized him for his Arab background and accent. Khalaf was born in Lebanon. A federal jury in Michigan ruled March 28 that Faisal Khalaf was subjected to workplace discrimination and retaliation after he reported the abuse. The jury awarded Khalaf $15 million in punitive damages, $1.7 million in retirement and pension losses, and $100,000 for emotional distress for the actions of Ford supervisors Bennie Fowler and Jay Zhou. A Ford representative says the company disagrees with the verdict and is pursuing options to get it “corrected.” This isn’t the first time Ford has come under fire for alleged discriminatory practices. In a December New York Times investigation, two Chicago plants was accused of insinuating sexual harassment. Source: AP Photo credit: Ford Media
