Lawyers for a Times Square hotel say they're considering an appeal after a jury Wednesday awarded one of its workers $3 million in an alleged case of retaliation. NY1's Natasha Ghoneim filed the following report.

With each doughnut Moises Mendez glazed, his employer was watching from a camera hidden in a smoke detector above his kitchen workspace. The Westin Times Square says it started the surveillance to find out who was bothering him after he complained that he was being harassed and discriminated against. But Mendez says the hotel was spying on him in retaliation for his complaints.

"I was always sad, with anxiety. It's a very horrible feeling," Mendez said.

The Ecuadorian immigrant says derogatory comments, sabotage and threats had been simmering since he started working at the Westin in 2003. Documents show that Mendez repeatedly begged the Westin's human resources department for help, saying his health was suffering.

Mendez says when the hotel did nothing he complained to the state's Division of Human Rights. In February 2008, he says the agency said he could sue the Westin. Mendez' attorney says the next month, a co-worker discovered the camera which became part of his lawsuit.

On Wednesday, a jury awarded him $3 million but not on his discrimination and harassment complaint. Instead, it found the Westin had retaliated against him for lodging the complaint in the first place.

"They decided to punish him by putting a hidden camera over his work station to spy on him and they kept a log of the times they saw him on camera. That is outrageous," said Mendez' attorney, Kenneth Thompson.

Initially, an attorney for the Westin's parent company told NY1 that Mendez' union had given the okay for the hidden camera. However, the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council told NY1 that's just not true.

When NY1 brought that to Starwood's attention, it issued a new statement saying, "The Hotel took its obligation to protect Mr. Mendez and investigate his allegations seriously and we believe did the right thing by him...We are currently exploring our options to have this erroneous finding reversed."

Mendez was escorted back to work Thursday by his lawyers.

The baker says he's worried about how his coworkers will treat him, but now knows how to fight back.