Greetings.

That is the word at the center of the controversy: "Greetings." A telephone operator at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers refused to use that word. She went to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an agency of the federal government, and said that the hotel was violating her rights by insisting that she say "Greetings." The EEOC decided to sue the hotel on behalf of the woman.

And the EEOC won the suit. Oh, it's not being described as a victory - both sides are calling it a settlement. But the hotel has just agreed to pay money to the woman to make up for its terrible mistake - to make up for having the nerve to ask a telephone operator to say "Greetings."

The operator is named Ninette Smith. Last winter, the hotel asked all its operators to answer the phones by saying: "Happy holidays, Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers." Smith said that saying "Happy holidays" violated her religious beliefs.

The hotel was a little puzzled by this; no specific holiday was being singled out, after all. "'Happy holidays' is a standard greeting not only in the hotel business, but in the retail business," a Sheraton spokeswoman said. But the hotel agreed not to require Smith to say those words. Instead, she was asked to say: "Greetings, Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers."

Smith contended this, too, was a violation of her rights. She said her religion did not recognize the validity of any holidays.

But - you may be thinking - the word "holidays" was no longer being mentioned. So why was she upset?

According to EEOC regional attorney John Hendrickson, the hotel made its mistake by asking Smith to say "Greetings" only during the December holiday season. If Smith had been asked to say "Greetings" all year round, the hotel would be within its rights, he said. But by asking her to say "Greetings" only in December, the hotel was implicitly acknowledging the existence of holidays.

So the EEOC, with its taxpayer-funded attorneys, sued the Sheraton, asking for back pay and money damages for Smith (She alleged that the hotel laid her off for five weeks; the hotel said that Smith asked to take the time off.)

Last week, U.S. District Judge James Holderman approved a consent decree resolving the lawsuit. The hotel promised that it would never again ask Smith to answer the telephone by saying "Greetings." It also promised to pay her $1,250 in back salary, and $2,500 in compensatory damages - as a way of expressing how sorry the hotel was for what it had done.

"The cost of the litigation was going to be too much for us," said Sheraton spokeswoman Ellen Butler. She said the government had indicated it would use its full resources to pursue the case in court.

Smith - who continues to work at the Sheraton - told us: "I feel justice was served. If someone says someone violated their conscience or their religious beliefs, then the employer should respect that."

Which, for an employer, could be extended to mean...what? That, perhaps, a person could take a job as a waiter, then go to the EEOC claiming to be a vegetarian, and have the government sue the restaurant for forcing him to serve meat to customers against his will?

At the EEOC, attorney Hendrickson is not at all amused by the criticism of his agency. "Saying 'Greetings' did offend her beliefs," he said. He said the Sheraton should learn a lesson from this: "They need to be sensitive to the rights of their employees."

Smith, who does not believe in holidays, gets the punitive damages from the Sheraton. The case is over.

But hotel spokeswoman Butler does point an interesting sidelight. All Sheraton employees receive paid holidays - Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. And Smith, who is so opposed to the concept of holidays?

"Yes, she received holiday pay last year," Butler said. "And, yes, she accepted it."

-Bob Greene, Dec 22, 1993, Austin American Statesman

Happy

Holidays!!

From