WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court has revived the workplace discrimination complaint of an Egyptian-born FBI supervisor who says he was passed over for several promotions after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Bassem Youssef said he was transferred to a job for which he was overqualified based on rumors that he had refused to carry out orders while stationed in Saudi Arabia because of his Muslim faith and a rumor that he had worn traditional Arabic head-gear. He says neither rumor was true.
A federal judge ruled in 2008 that Youssef's discrimination allegations fell short of the showing federal law requires that he suffered materially adverse action at work.
In a 3-0 ruling, the appeals court concluded that a reasonable juror could find that Youssef experienced an extraordinary reduction in responsibilities.
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