Mall Sued By Man Fired for Asking Woman to Remove Hijab

The man who was fired from his mall guard job at Bridgewater Commons after asking a Muslim woman to remove her hijab is suing the company that manages the mall, according to an article on mycentraljersey.com.

According to the article, former security guard, and Raritan resident, Marc Krause, 40, filed his discrimination lawsuit in state Superior Court in Somerville Monday.

In May, a Muslim woman was issued an apology after she was told twice by a security guard in the mall to remove her niqab, which covers her face from the public.

At the time, the mall's senior general manager, Troy Fischer, said the woman was approached by a security guard, who was an employee of outside vendor IPC International, and told to remove the head covering, which is worn for religious purposes.

The woman was approached a second time as well by the same security guard, who again told her to remove the head covering.

An apology was later issued to the woman.

In the lawsuit, the mycentraljersey.com article said, Krause is seeking unspecified damages and the reinstatement of his position at $11.77 per hour with benefits. The lawsuit also states, the article said, that Krause was unaware of exceptions to the "no mask" rule at the mall, and received training after the incident.

The mall tried to transfer Krause, who suffers from a mild learning disablity, to a position in West Windsor, the article said, but he found that too stressful, and was forced to collect unemployment benefits.