A jury awarded a Florida hotel dishwasher $21.5 million. The jury decided her employer Hilton Worldwide violated her Title VII rights by repeatedly scheduling her to work on Sundays and then firing her.
The dishwasher sued Hilton Worldwide claiming it had violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The jury felt Hilton Worldwide did not provide her a religious accommodation as required under Title VII for her sincerely held religious beliefs or practice.
The federal jury in Miami also granted $36,000 for lost wages and $500,000 for emotional anguish.
Even though the jury awarded $21 million in punitive damages, punitive damages are capped in federal court and she will likely receive around $500,000.
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