FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2025
EEOC Sues Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. for Religious Discrimination
Federal Agency Alleges That Timeshare Companies Failed to Accommodate Sales Executive’s Request to Observe Sabbath
ORLANDO, Fla. – Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., which sell vacation timeshare programs for hotels and vacation clubs, violated federal law when they failed to accommodate an employee’s request not to work Saturdays so she could observe Sabbath, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, management at Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Marriott Ownership Resorts initially allowed an employee, who is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a religious accommodation that allowed her to avoid Saturday shifts. After a change in management, the companies began scheduling her for Saturday shifts. After the employee made repeated complaints, they changed her schedule, negatively impacting her sales and commissions, and continued to schedule her for Saturdays, forcing her to choose between showing up to work and her religious practice. This led her to resign, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual’s religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious observance or practice 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.
“Employers need to remember that religious rights are not second-class rights, but rather part of our nation’s first principles,” said EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas. “Employers should take compliance with religious accommodation requirements under Title VII as seriously as compliance with their disability and pregnancy accommodations obligations: very seriously.”
“Under Title VII, employers must provide reasonable religious accommodations unless there is an undue burden,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Kristen Foslid. “Employers have a duty to work with their employees to attempt to find an accommodation and cannot revoke an accommodation without justification.”
EEOC Tampa Field Office Director Tamra Schweiberger added, “Employers must respect employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs, and it is the EEOC’s job to ensure employees can earn a living while adhering to those beliefs.”
For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.
The EEOC’s Miami District Office is comprised of the Miami, Tampa and San Juan offices, and has jurisdiction over Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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.
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