Have you seen the movie “Chariots of Fire”? In the movie, a runner is scheduled to compete in the Olympics on a Sunday. He is a Christian and believes that since Sunday is the sabbath, he should not compete that day.

Athletes aren’t the only people who hold the sabbath as sacred. Apparently, it’s very important for dishwashers not to work on Sunday too.

The video below explains the basics of this story.

 

Marie Jean Pierre started working as a dishwasher at the Conrad Miami. She says that she told her employer that she could not work on Sunday. She needed Sunday off to attend church and worship God.

In 2009, she was scheduled to work on a Sunday, and she says that she told her employer that she would have to resign if she couldn’t have Sunday off. To prevent her from quitting, her employer arranged her schedule so that she did not have to work on Sundays, that is, until 2015.

In 2015, Pierre was once again scheduled to work on a Sunday. Again, she complained. The kitchen manager allowed her to swap shifts with other employees so that she could have Sunday off, but that was only for a short time.

On March, 31, 2016, Pierre was fired from her job. The reason? According to the lawsuit, she was fired for negligence, misconduct and unexcused absences. You see, she was scheduled to work on Sunday. The kitchen manager didn’t let her switch shifts, so she didn’t show up for her shift. She was serious about not working on Sunday.

Pierre’s attorney, Marc Brumer, sued Hilton Worldwide, which is now known as Park Hotels & Resorts. He says the company violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law says that employers can’t discriminate based on race, sex, color, national origin or religion. In this case, he is claiming that the company discriminated based on religion.

Pierre told NBC Miami, “I love God. No work on Sunday, because Sunday I honor God.”

The jury sided with Pierre. They were unaware that there was a cap on punitive damage. Brumer asked for $50 million even though he knew there was a cap of $300,000. The jury awarded her $21.5 million. Brumer thinks she’ll end up with closer to $500,000.

Hilton claims that they didn’t know about Pierre’s religious beliefs and that they didn’t do anything wrong. A spokesman says they “intend to appeal.”

Pierre says that if she gets the money, she plans to use it to help orphans in her native Haiti.

Do you think Pierre should have been given Sundays off? Do you think her former employer owes her millions of dollars in damages for forcing her to work?