OAKLAND COUNTY—A Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) bus mechanic was awarded more than $342,000 in damages and attorney fees for enduring racial abuse because of his Iraqi heritage. 

Mazyn Barash, 57, a Chaldean American born in Iraq, suffered ethnic intimidation from managers and coworkers after the 9/11 attacks and during the Iraq war in 2003. In 2011, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC) ruled in his favor. SMART officials appealed Barash’s complaints and put him through hearings for almost two years. 

Bloomfield Hills Attorney Barry Goldman, the hearing officer on the case, ruled that the ethnic intimidation of Barash was acceptable because of the perceptions many Americans had about Middle Eastern Americans after 9/11. Goldman’s ruling was overturned by the MCRC. 

The Commission ruled SMART should pay Barash $150,000 “for mental/emotional distress and/or other non-economic damages”, a combined $124,000 for attorney fees to the Schechter and Akeel law firms; and $68,000 “for lost wages and/or other economic damages together with statutory interest.” 

The abuse escalated after the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq. Barash was called derogatory terms, including being referred to often as “Saddam.”

He became emotionally distraught when his co-workers chatted about killing Iraqis while in his presence. He filed the complaint in 2004 because he suffered depression and anxiety from workplace discrimination. Barash emigrated to the U.S. from Iraq to escape religious persecution when he was 9-years-old.