2 men awarded $1.5 million each in discrimination suit

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A federal jury has awarded more than $1.5 million each to two Connecticut men who filed discrimination and hostile work environment charges against their employer.

The New Haven Register reports (http://bit.ly/1pCWsV6) Yosif Bakhit, of Bridgeport, and Kiyada Miles, of Trumbull, were also awarded more than $390,000 in compensatory damages in the suit against Bridgeport-based Safety Marking, Inc.

Both men have worked for the highway marking company since 2008. The suit says they were subject to years of racial insults by co-workers and supervisors that were never dealt with by management.

Bakhit is Muslim and a native of Sudan. Miles is black.

The men say they filed official complaints with the company but were never interviewed.

Attorneys for Safety Marking declined to comment on the case but say they'll appeal.