CINCINNATI — A jury awarded a former magistrate more than $1.1 million on Friday, six years after she sued a Butler County judge for firing her because she is Jewish and requesting time off to celebrate the high holy days.
Kimberly Edelstein worked as a magistrate for Butler County Court of Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens for a few months in 2016, until she asked to use eight days of vacation time to celebrate the Jewish holidays. He fired her a few days later.
“I’m very grateful to God and for all of the people who supported me,” Edelstein said. “I hope this vindicates my reputation. I lost my career.”
Edelstein, who is a lawyer, represented herself during the two-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Barrett, and testified about her experience.
“I was told, ‘you don’t fit in,’” Edelstein said. “I didn’t not fit in because of some personality issue. I didn’t fit in because I was a fundamentalist Jew among three fundamentalist Christians.”
In her closing statement, Edelstein described Stephens as an “extreme Christian,” and former pastor, and that two other members of his staff mocked her and made fun of her religion.
Edelstein worked for Stephens after Judge Patricia Oney retired in early 2016. When Edelstein told Stephens in July 2016 that she would need to take eight days off in October to observe Jewish high holy days, she said he reacted her request by yelling, “Holy cow, eight days,” and fired her days later.
Stephens' attorney, Linda Woeber, said he fired Edelstein because she wasn’t a team player, and offended and embarrassed other staff members
“She lost her job with Judge Stephens because she was difficult to work with,” Woeber said.
But jurors disagreed. They awarded Edelstein $835,000 in back pay, $250,000 in compensatory damages, and $35,000 in punitive damages.
Edelstein said she couldn’t find a new job because other public officials in Butler County were working behind the scenes, including Prosecutor Mike Gmoser, “trying to beat me down and make it difficult for me to find work."
Edelstein originally filed the lawsuit in 2017 against Stephens, Gmoser and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dan Ferguson in 2017, saying the men talked negatively about her, destroying her career.
A judge later dismissed Gmoser and Ferguson from the case, which was upheld by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Edelstein said her EEOC complaint is still pending.
"We strongly believe the evidence at trial did not support the jury’s verdict, and we are considering our options," Woeber said.
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