A jury made the award to Marie Jean Pierre after finding that Park Hotels & Resorts violated her religious rights by repeatedly scheduling her to work on Sundays, and ultimately firing her. A cap on punitive damages will limit what she actually receives, however.
A jury has awarded a Miami hotel dishwasher $21.5 million, NBC News reported, after finding that her employer violated her religious rights by repeatedly scheduling her to work on Sundays—and ultimately firing her.
Marie Jean Pierre, who worked as a dishwasher at the Conrad Miami, sued Virginia-based Park Hotels & Resorts, formerly known as Hilton Worldwide, in 2017 for violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, NBC News reported. The landmark law bans employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The award was filed on January 15 with the U.S. District Court in Miami. The jury also found she was due $35,000 in back wages and $500,000 for emotional pain and mental anguish.
Pierre is likely to end up receiving in the range of $500,000, because punitive damages are capped in federal court, her lawyer told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“The jury was not aware of the cap,” said Pierre’s Miami-based lawyer, Marc Brumer. “They thought that they punished Hilton with $21 million [in damages].”
Pierre will get up to $300,000 in punitive damages — the limit in federal court — in addition to the $500,000 awarded for emotional distress and $35,000 in back wages, Brumer told the Sun Sentinel. From all that, Pierre could get about $500,000 after legal fees are factored in, he estimated.
Pierre, 60, is a mother of six and a member of the Soldiers of Christ Church, a Catholic missionary group that helps the poor, her attorney said.
Pierre said in the lawsuit that she informed the Conrad Miami from the beginning of her employment that she could not work Sundays because of her religious beliefs.
“I love God. No work on Sunday, because Sunday I honor God,” Pierre told NBC Miami on January 16, after the award was announced.
In 2009, Pierre alleges the hotel scheduled her to work on a Sunday, according to the lawsuit. She says she told her employer she would have to resign, but in an effort to persuade her not to quit, they accommodated her request until 2015.
In 2016, Pierre was fired for alleged misconduct, negligence and “unexcused absences,” according to the lawsuit.
Brumer said Hilton argued in court that it was unaware Pierre was a missionary, and never knew why she always wanted Sundays off. “There were letters in [her personnel] file, and her pastor went down there,” he said.
“You can’t discriminate when someone has a religious belief,” Brumer told the Sun Sentinel, citing the federal law. “You have to accommodate them.”
Hilton issued a statement after the verdict was announced, the Sun Sentinel reported: “We are very disappointed by the jury’s verdict, and don’t believe that it is supported by the facts of this case or the law,” a company spokeswoman said. “We intend to appeal, and demonstrate that the Conrad Miami was and remains a welcoming place for all guests and employees.”
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