Jehovah’s Witness drops suit against Princess over faith observance

LOS ANGELES – A former Princess Cruises employee has dropped her lawsuit alleging the company committed religious discrimination by denying her request to set aside time on two workdays each week to celebrate her faith as a Jehovah’s Witness, forcing her to quit her job.

Tonneishia Bradshaw‘s attorneys, Kaveh S. Elihu and Samuel J. Moorhead, filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Sotelo asking for a dismissal, but they did not indicate if the case was settled or if their client is not pursuing it for other reasons.

Bradshaw, 26, of Lancaster, was hired in November 2018 as a customer service representative and fulfilled all the terms and conditions of her employment, according to her suit filed July 10. She alleged that shortly after starting work, she told a Princess Cruises human resources representative that she needed two hours off from work on Sundays and Tuesdays due to her religious observances.

The representative replied, “You are going to have to take what we give you,” according to the suit, which said Bradshaw repeatedly stressed the importance of her religious obligations, but was not given any accommodations.

The next month, Bradshaw contacted her direct supervisor and asked for the same accommodations for her religious obligations and also presented a letter from her church’s elders noting her religious duties, the suit stated.

Bradshaw later received an email in response that said, “We do not make accommodations for this type of thing,” the suit alleged.

The plaintiff quit because she “no longer felt comfortable working for (Princess) as a result of their religious discrimination and failure to accommodate (her) religious obligations,” the suit stated. Her last day of work was in January 2019, the suit stated.

Bradshaw has suffered emotional distress, anxiety, depression, headaches and tension and has incurred expenses for psychological counseling and treatment, according to her court papers.

Previous related story: Jehovah’s Witness alleges Princess denied time to observe faith

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