NEW YORK — A New York appeals court ruling upheld a jury award of $1.6 million given to a Lesbian chef because the restaurant’s owner where she worked held weekly prayer meetings at the eatery and preached that “gay people” were “going to hell.”
Mirella Salemi sued her boss Edward Globokar who is the owner of Gloria’s Tribeca Inc.
He held the prayer meetings where people were told that homosexuality is a “sin” and that “gay people” were “going to hell,” according to the appeals court decision dated March 20.
The appeals court stated that Salemi, whose awarded included $400,000 as damages for emotional distress and $1.2 million in punitive damages, was subjected to an “incessant barrage of offensive anti-homosexual invective.”
Other employees at the restaurant feared that they would lose their jobs if they didn’t attend the prayer meetings, according to the appeals’ court decision.
The appeals court stated that the evidence was “extensive and corroborated by multiple witnesses” and supports the jury’s verdict that it violated New York City Human Rights Law.
The appeals court also noted that judge’s instructions to jurors stated that Globokar had “a right to express his religious beliefs and practice his religion, provided that he does not discriminate against his employees based on religion or sexual orientation.”