Couple fired for being Muslim

FEDERAL JUDGE ALLOWS MUSLIM COUPLE'S LAWSUIT TO PROCEED - TOPAssociated Press, 7/20/06
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspxid=17182
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. ­ A federal judge yesterday decided that a Muslim couple's civil rights lawsuit may proceed but without two of the four claims. The two remaining counts claim the couple's civil rights and First Amendment right to associate with whomever they choose were violated.The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in December 2004 on behalf of Aliakbar and Shahla Afshari, who claim that they were illegally fired from their jobs with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's facility in Morgantown.The Afsharis, who are Shiite Muslims and natives of Iran, were fired May 5, 2004, because they failed to pass a secret background investigation that was conducted on employees from countries considered a threat to the United States, including Iran, according to the lawsuit.The Afsharis passed background checks when they were hired in 1996 and in 1997. Their lawsuit, which was filed against NIOSH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, claims the couple was fired because of their national origin and religious beliefs in violation of their First Amendment rights.