After Sept. 11, 2001, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) forecast that Arabs and Muslims would file more workplace discrimination and harassment complaints. A mere three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the EEOC—evidently expecting the worst—issued a press release calling on employers (and employees) across the nation to “promote tolerance and guard against unlawful workplace discrimination based on national origin or religion.”1 The EEOC reminded employers to reiterate their anti-discrimination policies, provide training and counseling, communicate how to address workplace discrimination and harassment and encourage employees to report improper conduct.2

Of course, it is natural to expect these types of claims would be filed in the wake of such a calamitous event. And in fact, there has been an increase in the number of religious and national origin discrimination charges filed by Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh workers in the 10 years since Sept. 11. During 2010, the EEOC received 3,790 charges of religious discrimination, nearly double the number of charges in 2000.3 The number of national origin charges filed has also increased from 7,792 in 2000 to 11,304 in 2010.4 In fiscal year 2009, the EEOC received a record-breaking 803 claims from Muslim workers, a 20 percent increase from 2008.5

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