An Ohio woman who claimed she was fired for being observant has been awarded $1.1 million in damages after a federal jury accepted her claim. The jury found she was fired for wanting to “observe the Jewish holidays”
An Ohio woman who claimed six years ago that she was fired for being an observant Jew has been awarded $1.1 million in damages after a federal jury ruled in her favor. Kimberly Edelstein was working as a judge in Butler County, Ohio, USA, when she asked her judge supervisor for eight days off during the Tishrei holidays in 2017.
The lawsuit states that the judge slapped her: “Holy cow, eight days?” Judge Greg Stephens yelled at her and insulted her, according to the lawsuit. She was fired four days later and according to her the judge and two prosecutors mentioned in the lawsuit belittled her in front of other employers, and made it difficult for her to find a job.
Her claim was handled in the court system where she once worked for years afterward, the judges rejected some of her claims, but allowed her religious discrimination claim to proceed against the judge. The trial continued with a jury who determined that she was aborted due to her desire to observe the Jewish holidays.
The trial against the judge began last January 23 and included the testimony of a rabbi. The jury announced the verdict last Friday, the Jewish News Agency JTA reported.
“The jury’s findings are an important reminder that the law provides protections for those who wish to observe religious customs,” said Rabbi Ari Balban, director of the Council of Jewish Communities in Cincinnati. “Employers and government institutions are not allowed to retaliate against Jews (or other religious minorities) for seeking to exercise their protected religious rights.”