A Middle Eastern former mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service failed to show that his removal by police and placement on emergency leave following a workplace dispute constituted race- and national origin-based discrimination, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Thursday.
In 2022, the plaintiff in Ismail v. Steiner engaged in an argument with his supervisor over the length of time the plaintiff would spend on his route given the day’s mail volume. The supervisor asked the plaintiff — who, per court records, requested overtime on a “near-daily basis” — to return by 5:30 p.m.
The discussion escalated to yelling. When asked to take the discussion to the supervisor’s office, the plaintiff refused and continued yelling on the workroom floor, at one point using a profane remark. The supervisor left the floor of the Carpentersville, Illinois, post office and called the police, who escorted the plaintiff out of the facility. The Postal Service placed the plaintiff on emergency off-duty status, which removed him from work and docked him two days’ pay.
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