Marriott Companies to Pay $175,000 in EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

ORLANDO, Fla. - Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., sellers of timeshare programs for hotels and vacation clubs, agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $175,000 and significant non-monetary relief, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC's suit charged that management at Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Marriott Ownership Resorts initially provided a religious accommodation for a Seventh-Day Adventist employee which allowed her to avoid Saturday shifts so she would not have to work on her religion's Sabbath. After a change in management, the companies revoked her religious accommodation and began scheduling her to work on Saturdays. Although the employee made repeated complaints about losing her religious accommodation, the employer continued to schedule her for Saturdays, negatively impacting her sales and commissions, and forcing her to choose between her work and her faith, leading to her resignation around June 2023, according to the suit.

"Federal law prohibits employers from refusing to accommodate a religious practice absent undue hardship, which certainly would not have been a factor in this case," said Kristen M. Foslid, regional attorney for the EEOC's Miami District Office. "The EEOC commends Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Marriott Ownership Resorts for agreeing to take steps to ensure that religious discrimination does not occur there in the future."

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual's religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp., et al., Case No. 6:25-cv-00790-PGB-DCI) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne added, "Employers are obligated by law to respect workers' sincerely held religious beliefs, and the EEOC is committed to ensuring that religious liberty is preserved in the American workplace."

The three-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit requires the defendants to provide $175,000 in monetary relief to the former employee; update certain religious accommodation policies at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida; provide specialized training to managers, supervisors and human resources personnel who manage and advise sales executives at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida; and post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and of their right to be free from workplace discrimination. Furthermore, the company will provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding requests for religious accommodations at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida.

The Miami District Office's jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.