Arakji

I. BACKGROUND

20 Plaintiff is a 38-year-old male, who for “[M]uslim religious purposes,” wears a long beard. 21 FAC ¶ 1, ECF 22. Plaintiff also has a “very obvious musculoskeletal disability which limits [his] 22 ability to grip and lift heavy objects.” Id. Plaintiff’s “national origin is Lebanese, which is an Arab 23 country in the Middle East” and has “Arabic ancestry and ethnic characteristics.” Id. Plaintiff’s 24 first name “Mazen” is “known to be an Arabic name” and his surname “Arakji” is “known to be a 25 [M]uslim surname.” Id. 26 Plaintiff holds two degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder: (1) Bachelors 27 Electrical and Computer Engineering and (2) Masters Computer Engineering. FAC ¶ 2. Plaintiff 1 has earned various certifications in his field. Id. ¶ 3-4. Plaintiff worked at Sun Microsystems (now 2 Oracle), where he was promoted within 6 months and was accepted into the “selective Sun 3 Engineering Enrichment & Development (SEED) program” on the technical tract—designed for 4 individuals with a high potential to excel. Id. ¶ 5. He received a letter from a previous employer 5 commending his performance and contributions. Id. …