A Christian spa worker has filed a lawsuit against Hershey accusing the confectionary giant of violating her religious freedoms by suspended her for refusing to escort a transgender woman to the women’s locker room.

Jeriah Sellers works part-time as a concierge at MeltSpa, a spa at the luxury Hotel Hershey, which is part of the company’s Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. One of Sellers’ responsibilities is escorting guests to male or female locker rooms.

On 28 May 2025, Sellers’ direct supervisor told her a “well-known political figure” and trans woman would be a spa guest and ordered she be directed her to the women’s locker room. But Sellers told her supervisor that to do so would be a violation of her religious beliefs.

In her complaint, Sellers says God created only two sexes – male and female – and that it would violate her religious belief in “modesty and privacy” to escort an individual she believed to be a man into a space where women would undress, “thereby subjecting those women to a sexually harassing environment where their privacy will be compromised”.

Her beliefs also require her to speak truthfully, she claims. 

Since the signs above each MeltSpa locker room give no indication that they are based on gender identity rather than “biological sex”, Sellers believes she would be “deceiving” cisgender women by allowing a trans woman access.

Sellers’ supervisor said her objections were not a problem, and agreed to escort the guest through the facility themselves. At no point during her shift did Sellers have any contact with the guest.

In a meeting with her manager day later, Sellers said she “treats all male guests well, no matter how they identify”, and that she was “more than happy to help any male with any aspect of their visit”. 

She reiterated that her only objection was to escorting the trans woman specifically to the gendered locker room, not any other part of the facility.

Sellers claims her manager approved this accommodation at the meeting. But the lawsuit then details a June HR meeting in which  Sellers was accused of violating Hershey’s “transgender policy”. 

“Hershey wants you to leave your personal, religious, and political beliefs at the door,” the HR manager allegedly told Sellers before writing her up and issuing a one-shift suspension.

During this meeting, Sellers claims she was handed a copy of the spa’s transgender policy for the very first time and told she should guide guests according to whichever gender they wrote on their intake questionnaire, which lists options for “male”, “female”, and “non-binary”. 

Sellers refused to sign a letter confirming the outcome of the meeting, since she denied having “refused to assist a guest based on their gender identity” as it suggested.

She claims Hershey’s actions were in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs. She claims her accommodation request was a protected activity and that her subsequent suspension constituted unlawful retaliation.

The lawsuit also accuses Hershey of failing to reasonably consider her requests for accommodation, which she claims would not have presented a significant burden for the company, since the spa already allows another employee to take over from a concierge if they are otherwise engaged.

Sellers has requested a jury trial and is demanding unspecified compensatory damages, including lost wages and punitive damages for Hershey’s “extreme and outrageous conduct”.

“Federal and state law require reasonable religious accommodations absent undue hardship,” said Andrea Shaw, the attorney representing Sellers. “This case asks the court to affirm that principle and to make clear that employees shouldn’t be penalised for living their faith respectfully on the job.”

In a statement, Hershey denied the allegations.

“While we typically do not discuss specific details of individual personnel matters, there are clear differences between what has been reported and what is documented to have occurred,” a company spokesperson said. 

“No religious accommodation was requested before or during the spa service, and the team member did not indicate she could not assist the guest for religious reasons.

“Hershey Entertainment & Resorts is committed to ensuring every guest feels welcome, comfortable, and safe at our properties. We proudly serve and employ people from all backgrounds and beliefs, and we treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve.”