A Jackson hotel employee who was accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act has been fined and will pay restitution to her two victims.
Priscillla Protasowicki was accused of using force to remove two guests from her family's hotel on the basis of their religion and perceived national origin. As part of a resolution agreement with the Attorney General, she will pay them $85, the cost of the room she had refused to refund.
She will also pay a $10,000 fine, $7,500 of which will be suspended for one year provided she has no contact with the victims and their families, and commits no crimes motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, or disability.
Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Lahey directs the state’s Civil Rights Unit and prosecuted the case.
“Bias-motivated conduct and hate crimes will not be tolerated in New Hampshire,” she says. “There are now dedicated mechanisms in place to prosecute and resolve those types of incidents. The goal of the unit is to make sure that this kind of conduct is identified, investigated, and dealt with, and then, more proactively, that it’s deterred and it doesn’t happen.”
This was the first case prosecuted by the Civil Rights Unit after it was established in 2017.
