by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 24 – Gebrial Rasmy is an Egyptian Christian who says he suffered racial and religious slurs while working at the JM Marriott Essex House on Central Park West, before being fired in retaliation for his complaints.
On March 20, 2023 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff was holding a jury trial. Inner City Press went and covered it.
On the witness stand, Rasmy listed the range of slurs he faced, from Egyptian mummy to camel to much, much worse.
He says the slurs came from his co-worker and union delegate Estratue Stamatis, and were reported to his Human Resources Director, Karen Doherty (who, he says, complained of the "extra work" his complaints created for her).
Marriott as responded, among other things, that Rasmy's bulging disk is from a motor vehicle accident after he was fired, which they say was for cause.
On March 21, Marriott's lawyer cross examined Rasny about, among other things, another discrimination case he filed, against a Lexus dealership. He started to mention that a passenger in his car was black, but got shut down.
He was asked if he disclosed his termination by Marriott when he applied for another job. He acknowledged claiming he'd been bought out, explaining "I needed the job."
Then he was asked about not working or working for work from March 2017 to the end of 2022 - and made to describe showing real estate, without having a real estate license. Marriott implied it has written statements from other, presumably current, employees that Rasny through pads and pencil on the ground, charged at a co-worker with a metal pitcher and, strangely, told a bartender to "turn off the lights." This is Marriott.
On March 24 after 5 pm the jury returned with a verdict - only one of the defendants liable, for $400,000 in backpay. At the defense table, a fainting, and a call for an ambulance. Judge Rakoff said he had doubts about that liability and invited a motion in 30 days. The man was still moving, and insisted he was OK. The ambulance was on the way when plaintiff's counsel left.
The case is Rasmy v. Marriott International, Inc., 16-cv-4865 (Rakoff)
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