Kuwait Consulate Loses Appeal Over Immunity in Worker Bias Suit

The General Consulate of Kuwait in in Los Angeles can’t use sovereign immunity to shield itself from discrimination claims brought by a secretary, who says she was harassed at work and forced to quit because of her gender, religion, and Syrian national origin, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday.

The Central District of California correctly found that it had jurisdiction over the case under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s commercial activity exception because plaintiff Rasha Mohammad was not a diplomat or civil servant and her job duties didn’t include “powers peculiar to sovereigns,” the appeals court said.

A foreign state generally ...