NEW ORLEANS – A St. Tammany Parish man says the U.S. Department of the Navy has systematically discriminated against him during his 17-year tenure.
Mohammad Khaghani filed a lawsuit Nov. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, alleging religious discrimination, retaliation and the creation of a hostile work environment.
According to the complaint, Khaghani has been removed from projects, excluded from important meetings, prevented from advancement, deprived of opportunities to earn overtime pay and subjected to anti-Muslim discrimination. He claims the issues began when a manager outside his chain of command replaced him on a project with a white, Christian woman who was allegedly having an affair with the manager.
Khaghani seeks damages to be proven at trial for lost overtime wages and mental anguish, as well as for litigation costs and lost salary from positions he was denied. The suit also asks for cessation of harassment and denial of job opportunities within the department. He is represented by attorneys Julie U. Quinn, Justin E. Alsterberg and James V. King III of Quinn Alsterberg in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:15-cv-06039