Barash (right) celebrates after the Michigan Civil Rights Commission ruled in his favor in Lansing. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/TAAN

FARMINGTON HILLS — The long, drawn out case for Mazyn Barash of Farmington Hills, who last month received a ruling in his favor by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission against his former place of employment, the SMART bus company, just got even longer. Last week, the company appealed the ruling made by the commission, taking the case, which dates back to 2003, into another stretch.

Barash, who is a married Chaldean Christian with two children, had been employed with the company since 1989, before he started getting harassed for his ethnicity by co-workers and superintendents after the attacks on 9/11. The incidents were even more hostile during the Iraq War, when Barash received a threatening letter from his co-workers calling him a “Sand N*****.” 

After reporting these incidents to his Superintendent Keith Taylor, who would later in court admit to these wrong doings, he shot back at Barash by saying “The fun is just beginning.”

The hostility got more intense when pictures of Arab men in turbans were posted around the work place, a picture of a terrorist was placed on Barash’s card and a website full of bigotry was created by his co-workers, who Barash repeatedly had heard saying around the workplace things like “We’re going to kill all the Iraqis.”  

According to Barash, nothing continued to be done by SMART after he would report these incidents. One of the colleagues who had used insults against him was even awarded with both an Employee of the Year award and a promotion by SMART.

In 2004, Barash decided to finally file a complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. After filing the complaint, he was put on a temporary leave of absence from SMART in October of 2004, unable to cope with the continued threats and insults. 

The case stretched out over a two year period where 17 hearings had taken place. It took a hearing officer assigned to the case, attorney Barry Goldman, an additional 18 months to decide on the case. In 2007, he was then permanently terminated from his job, after nearly three years on leave of absence. He has since been unemployed. 

The investigation made by the commission had initially sided with Barash. However last year, Goldman ruled against Barash’s claims arguing that the abuse was justified due to the nature of the political climate at the time.

Barash appealed this ruling and the commission ruled in his favor last month, awarding Barash compensation by SMART that would later be determined. However, the never-ending case takes another detour, as SMART has decided to appeal that ruling.

“I’m sure that if it was any other ethnic group other than Middle Easterners, it would have been resolved a long time ago and people would have been fired,” Barash stated.    

One of the company’s reasons for filing an appeal against the case was “The Civil Rights Commission’s decision was not supported by competent, material and substantial evidence on the record as a whole,” according to the appeal filed at the Ingham County Circuit Court on November 14. g

This decision by SMART comes right on the heels of the company’s announcement a few weeks ago that it would be cutting salaries and reducing its staff by laying off up to 125 workers. The company will also be doing away with up to 22% of its offered daily bus routes, including some in the Detroit and Dearborn area due to loss of revenue. Yet according to Barash, they seem to be spending plenty of money on this particular case. 

“They are willing to spend another million if necessary, even though they had admitted to the discrimination and have never disciplined any of the discriminators,” Barash stated. The next commission meeting is scheduled on December 5 for the awarding of damages.