A Muslim employee of Sacramento County alleges that he has suffered religious and racial discrimination since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

That's the same year Abdur-Rahim Wasi, who is African American, started work at the Human Assistance Department.

In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court last year, Wasi says co-workers have called him a host of names associated with the terrorist attacks – "Osama Bin Laden," "Taliban" and "Al-Qaida."

"I'm tired of being called Osama Bin Laden," Wasi wrote in a complaint to a federal agency two years ago.

Wasi went on to say that he considers the Sept. 11 attacks criminal and the "mass murder of innocent people."

Wasi's attorney, Leo Donahue, would not discuss the case Tuesday, nor would a county spokeswoman, Kerri Aiello.

But in its written reply to Wasi's complaint, the county denies all of his allegations and says it took reasonable steps to stop any harassment or discrimination.

Rachel Roberts, Northern California civil rights coordinator for the Council of American Islamic Relations, said, "We've seen an uptick in employment discrimination around the country, including the Sacramento Valley, since 9/11."

Roberts said when religious-accommodation issues have arisen in the past, they were resolved. Roberts said the Wasi case is the only one CAIR is aware of in which a Muslim county employee is alleging discrimination.

Wasi claims county managers not only failed to stop the harassment, but in one case mocked his concern. A program manager wore an Arab head covering at a Halloween party after Wasi had filed a complaint, according to the lawsuit.

Wasi currently works as a human services specialist – essentially a caseworker – for the county department responsible for a variety of welfare benefits.

Wasi, who is seeking unspecified monetary damages, alleges the county has also failed to make reasonable accommodations to allow him to practice his faith.

Wasi wanted to leave work for an hour every third Friday to observe an Islamic ceremony, which he's entitled to do under state law. Wasi was willing to work other hours to make up the time, but the county refused, even though at least one other county employee was granted a similar arrangement, the lawsuit states.

Wasi has taken several months of leave from work because of physical and psychological problems related to the harassment, according to the lawsuit.

In his complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Wasi says his problems started six months after taking a county job in 2001.

The day terrorists crashed four planes, Wasi's co-workers started asking questions: What was going on with Muslims and why would they attack the country?

"I conveyed that it was a criminal act and I support going after the people behind it," Wasi said he told colleagues, according to his complaint to the EEOC.

In April 2006, Wasi said, several colleagues harassed him by a copy machine, saying he was a member of al-Qaida and the Taliban. He said he was worried that the repeated jokes would attract the attention of the FBI.

Two years later, Wasi said, a colleague gave him a memo purportedly written by a top county official, Bruce Wagstaff. The memo said Wasi was fired.

That same day, Wasi said, the same colleague gave him a county business card that changed his job title from Job Club Coordinator to "Job Club Assassinator."

When he complained to a supervisor, Wasi said he was told the colleague was just joking with him.

In his EEOC complaint, Wasi said he was also having a hard time getting supervisors to consider his request to leave certain days for prayer.

In August 2010, Program Manager Dan Ortiz sent him an email denying his request, according to a copy of an email included in Wasi's lawsuit.

Two months later, Ortiz showed up at a county Halloween party wearing the head covering, according to the lawsuit.

Editor's note: Comments on this story were closed Jan. 4 because of hate speech and other inappropriate comments

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Call The Bee's Brad Branan, (916) 321-1065. Follow him on Twitter @BradB_at_SacBee. The Bee's Stephen Magagnini contributed to this report.

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