MACON, Ga. — A Macon man won a federal discrimination lawsuit against his former employer who he said attacked his Muslim faith. Gregory Lowe said his boss, Dan Couey at All Star Moving and Delivery, made discriminatory comments toward him and other employees.
In the lawsuit, Judge Tilman E. Self III ruled Lowe was underpaid and was treated differently because of his race and religion.
Lowe started working at the moving company full-time in May 2019. Before that, he was a temp worker for them before working with the company full time.
Lowe is Muslim and Black and told 13WMAZ he didn't disclose his religion because of the hurtful comments people have made to him before, but his coworkers and Couey would soon find out.
"People look at Muslims differently because they don't know the truth about Islam. They go on what they see on TV. You ain't reading. You just going to judge on what you see. You can't do that, you got to study Islam. Islam is the true way of life," Lowe said.
While working at a job, a client and Lowe exchange the Muslim Arabic greeting 'As-salamu alaikum'. Lowes coworker asked him if he was Muslim and Lowe said yes.
In the lawsuit, when his boss found out, Couey called him a 'terrorist' and called Muslims 'suicide bombers'. He told Lowe that his religion was made up and said "I don't want no Muslim working for me.'
The lawsuit also says Couey was known to frequently "use of the 'N-word."
Then Couey fired Lowe and told him to get out, the lawsuit says.
Lowe filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They ruled there was evidence that All-Star Moving discriminated against Lowe. Lowe then took the case to federal court.
In the lawsuit, Lowe said Black employees treated Black employees worse than white employees. For example, Lowe was paid $9 an hour, and white employees were paid between $10-$13 dollars an hour when Lowe should've been paid $11 an hour.
After Lowe was fired and came back to pick up his check later, Lowe says Couey threatened him with a bat when he came to pick up his last check.
In the lawsuit, some witnesses also saw Couey do what Lowe said.
The judge found Lowe was entitled to over $66,00 in backpay and $50,000 in punitive damages along with interest and attorney's fees.
We tried to reach Dan Couey for comment. We could not reach him. All-Star Moving is no longer at the Northside Drive location.
Lowe is now a forklift driver and enjoys working for his new employer who sees him for who he is.