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Operators of Urth Caffe near Main Beach have agreed to refine their restaurant’s seating policy and to add language about diversity and sensitivity to their employee handbook as the result of a two-year legal dispute with seven Muslim women who claimed they were targets of religious discrimination.
In a settlement reached Thursday, June 14 both parties agreed to dismiss their cases and that the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or liability by either party.
In May, 2016, the seven women, led by Sara Farsakh, of Corona, filed a civil rights lawsuit against Urth Caffe alleging they were discriminated against and told to leave the restaurant because they were wearing hijabs, traditional Middle Eastern headscarves. The cafe owner denied the allegation and filed a counter suit accusing the women of rude behavior and of trespassing after they were asked to leave.