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An ex-golf club waitress and her former employer settled a federal lawsuit alleging she was fired for complaining she was groped by a drunken regular and due to her refusal to work Sundays so she could go to church.
Kingston resident Melissa Conde filed a complaint against Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas on July 9, 2015, alleging religious discrimination, hostile workplace, sexual harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages.
Court documents filed Thursday indicate the case has been settled. Terms were not disclosed.
Conde’s attorney, W. Charles Sipio, of Bucks County, declined to comment on the litigation but confirmed the parties met Wednesday.
“It’s been resolved,” Sipio said.
Huntsville Golf Club General Manager Jeff Fry did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.
Conde, the complaint says, was repeatedly pressured into working Sundays despite telling staff prior to her hiring that she went to church in the morning and spent the remainder of the day in prayer. She was asked by manager Suzy Kearns if she was “really religious or whether she simply used religion as an excuse to get out of work for a day.”
Kearns sent her home in April 2014 after accusing her of stealing a table from another waitress, telling her to clock out and leave because she “did not like to do what she was told,” according to the complaint.
That same month, a drunken club member allegedly grazed her breast with the back of his hand and quipped she would qualify to work at a strip club he owned. Conde allegedly urged manager Scott Simko to kick the member out, but Simko brushed off the behavior and told her to ignore the customer’s “jokes.”
“These guys pay a lot of money to be members here,” Simko later told her, according to the complaint. “I am not kicking them out and getting him even more fired up.”
Conde complained to human resources but claimed she was scolded for going above the general manager’s head, the complaint says. She continued to experience skepticism from managers over her religion, the complaint says, which culminated with a demand to produce photographs of her at church.
Conde was fired May 20, 2014, after she confronted Brittany Lumia in the club parking lot after she claimed the fellow waitress accused her of “dropping F-bombs” in front of customers during a dinner event.
According to documents filed by the golf club’s attorneys, Conde “got ‘nose to nose’ with Lumia, screaming at her, while Ms. Lumia was cowering down to her.”
“(Conde) stated that Ms. Lumia had ‘snitched’ on her, and if they weren’t at work, she would ‘kick her a—.’ (Conde) then reportedly pushed Ms. Lumia with enough force that made her go backwards. (Conde) then reportedly stated to Ms. Lumia that if she gets fired, and ‘food gets taken out of her kids’ mouths,’ that she would come to Ms. Lumia’s house and ‘murder her.’”
Conde denied a physical altercation.
“(Conde) barely got to tell her side of the story,” the complaint says.