Eastern Kentucky man sues Hampton Inn, accuses boss of trying to force exorcism on him

An eastern Kentucky man has filed a lawsuit against Hampton Inn and his boss after he says he was punished for not undergoing an exorcism.

The lawsuit was filed in Perry Circuit Court in March, and the plaintiff is Jason Fields of Leslie County. The defendants are Hampton Inn, Employee Resource Group and Sharon Lindon.

Fields states in the lawsuit he started working at Hampton Inn as a front desk employee beginning in 2016. Sharon Lindon, his manager, learned Fields was going through a divorce and believed his marital problems were because he had demons.

Lindon is accused of telling Fields he had to get cleansed in order to keep working at the hotel. Lindon gave Fields a questionnaire with many questions about religion and intimate activities. Fields said in the Lawsuit he was asked to return it to Lindon before undergoing an exorcism.

Fields accuses Lindon of punishing him for not participating in the questionnaire and exorcism by changing his shift and bringing in people from her ministry to pray for him while he was working. This would happen in front of the guests. This would lead Fields to quit his job.

The lawsuit accuses Lindon of religiously discriminating against Fields because he didn't share her beliefs. Fields is seeking punitive and compensatory damages in the lawsuit.

Hampton Inn released a statement on the lawsuit:

“We were notified Wednesday, March 27th that a lawsuit has been filed. We intend to do a thorough investigation of the accusations made within the lawsuit. As a company, we oppose all types of discrimination and await our opportunity to discuss our side. At this time we have no further comments.”

The other defendants have not responded to our requests for comment.