A federal jury in Birmingham awarded nearly $4 million to an Iranian cancer research scientist who said she was stalked, held at gunpoint and attacked while being called a “sand n—-” during her nine-year employment at UAB’s medical school.
Dr. Fariba Moeinpour, an Iranian national who worked at a UAB lab from February 2011 until she was fired in February 2020, claimed she was harassed on a daily basis at her job “because of her race and national origin.”
In a statement, UAB said it “does not tolerate harassment, retaliation or discrimination of any kind. We are committed to our values, which include integrity, respect and collaboration, and work to cultivate an environment where all members of our community feel welcome, safe and supported. We respectfully disagree with the verdict in this case involving former employees, and we are considering next steps.”
Among the discrimination and harassment Moeinpour said she was subject to included a co-worker telling her, “Bitch, you have to leave this lab and go back to Iran!”
That same co-worker, identified in Moeinpour’s lawsuit as Mary Jo Cagle, allegedly drove her car at Moeinpour and Moeinpour’s daughter and pointed a gun at Moeinpour in the UAB parking deck and saying this is what “we” do to a “sand n—–.”
Moeinpour said she complained to her boss and to human resources but was ignored.
She said her supervisor claimed he could not do anything about Cagle because “he would lose his job or be killed or would kill himself.”
The supervisor said when he threatened to fire Cagle if she did not stop harassing Moeinpour, four men showed up to his house and shoved him into his car.
When Moeinpour was in her supervisor’s office to complain that action wasn’t taken against Cagle, she said her supervisor became agitated, called the police and threatened to ruin her reputation and have her jailed, saying the conversations about Moeinpour’s complaints are ”his word against hers.”
When Moeinpour said she could prove what they discussed, the supervisor “grabbed Ms. Moeinpour by the chin and knocked her down, cutting her face with his nails and causing her to bleed,” according to the lawsuit.
“When Ms. Moeinpour fell to the floor, he fell on top of her and held her down. In an effort to get him off of her, Ms. Moeninpour slapped him,” the suit stated.
When an officer got to the office, he led Moeinpour out of the building and said he was taking her to jail. Moeinpour then fainted when she heard she was being jailed, the lawsuit claimed.
“When Ms. Moeinpour woke up, her ankle and wrists were handcuffed, and she was belted on a gurney in the emergency room,” the suit stated, adding that she was eventually taken to the jail and held overnight.
Moeinpour was fired on Feb. 13, 2020 by UAB without anyone speaking to her, according to her lawsuit.
On Monday, a jury in Birmingham federal court sided with Moeinpour, finding the scientist had reason to believe she was harassed based on her nationality and that Cagle acted with malice.
The jury ordered UAB to pay Moeinour $3 million, while Cagle was ordered to pay the scientist $500,000 in compensatory damages and $325,000 in punitive damages.
