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| Private & Public Sector
Litigation |
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| PRIVATE
SECTOR - JUDGMENTS / SETTLEMENTS |
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 Hewus
v. Weber Graphics - Sexual Orientation Discrimination
$314,000 judgment in 2002 for a female art
director of 12 years, based on sexual
orientation discrimination and wrongful termination.
Plaintiff was terminated one day
after she engaged in protected activity: questioning
changes made by the new VP,
including his refusal to reproduce prints
of the “rainbow flag”, a symbol
of the gay
community.
Confidential
Settlement - Disability and Retaliation
$380,000 settlement in 2008, for an African
American union factory worker, based on a
failure to accommodate, failure to engage
in the interactive process, retaliation and
failure to investigate/prevent discrimination.
During 6 years of performing warehouse assembly-line
manufacturing, Plaintiff repeatedly complained
of unequal treatment and excessive production
requirements which he attributed to race.
Plaintiff was reassigned to a more strenuous
position, where Plaintiff sustained carpal
tunnel and back injury. Evidence was presented
which indicated that (1) management orchestrated
displacement of the Plaintiff from his original
job, with a handpicked replacement; (2) false
“pretextual” statements were made
in order to justify management conduct; and
(3) no meaningful efforts were made to identify
and disclose alternative job duties, or to
restructure the essential functions of Plaintiff’s
assigned manufacturing tasks. *Co-counsel
with Law Offices of Twila S. White.
Confidential Settlement -
Gender, Harassment and Constructive Discharge
$240,000 settlement in 2003, for a female
employee, forced to resign due to harassment.Plaintiff
was verbally abused by male co workers, placed
at a disadvantage to male salesmen by being
given less favorable “leads”,
and written up for pretextual issues. Despite
this, plaintiff's performance remained equal
to or better than her male counterparts. Plaintiff
and other female employees were never promoted,
or considered for promotion.
Confidential
Settlement - Pregnancy & Race Discrimination
$62,500 settlement in 2007, for a student,
based on pregnancy and race discrimination.
Plaintiff was expelled from beauty college
two weeks before graduation based on the pretext
of insubordination. Plaintiff left class momentarily
in order to eat an an apple due to pregnancy
hunger pangs. The instructor ordered plaintiff
back into class, stating that no exceptions
were made for pregnancy. In contrast, other
students were allowed to take smoke breaks,
without reprimand. The instructor had made
comments about the mixed race of the expectant
child, based on Plaintiff being Hispanic and
her boyfriend being African American.
Confidential Settlement
- Wrongful Termination and Defamation
$125,000 settlement in 2006 for a female Quality
Assurance employee employed at a blood bank,
based on wrongful termination and defamation.
Plaintiff was terminated for undocumented
poor job performance, where company failed
to follow its stated policy of progressive
discipline. Plaintiff was publicly terminated
during peak employee hours and escorted from
the building. Signs were posted barring Plaintiff’s
re-entrance. Post termination, the president
held a staff meeting and attributed the company’s
financial troubles to the loss of a major
contract, due to failure of the Plaintiff
to timely comply with requirements. Despite
the employer’s formal performance review
policy, Plaintiff received no performance
evaluations, and no other verbal or written
notice of the purported inadequacies of her
job performance. Consequently, Plaintiff was
denied any opportunity to correct and/or improve
her performance, or to challenge the truth
of the purported unsatisfactory assessment
of Plaintiff’s performance.
Confidential Settlement -
Male-on-Male Sexual Harassment & Racial Discrimination
$150,000 settlement in 2002 for a 49 year
old African-American employee, who was subjected
to unwanted sexual advances and racial slurs
by a male ex-supervisor during 5 months of
employment. Plaintiff’s supervisor threatened
to expedite plaintiff’s termination
if the supervisor’s sexual advances
were refused. |
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| PUBLIC
SECTOR - JUDGMENTS / SETTLEMENTS. |
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 Comey
v. County of Los Angeles, EHS - Gender Discrimination:
Failure to Promote
$1,263,023 jury verdict in 2008. This 32-year
Environmental Health Services ("EHS")
employee, who had been a manager for over
nine (9) years and helped create a nationally
recognized Lead Program, was passed over for
promotion by a series of men. Evidence was
presented that: (1) a glass ceiling existed
as to Registered EHS certified women, such
that no woman had ever been promoted to Bureau
Director; and (2) men are groomed for promotion,
with interim "acting" appointments,
plumb assignments and direct access to upper
management. Defendant unsuccessfully asserted
that Plaintiff's poor management style rendered
her unqualified for promotion above manager.
Whereas male promotees had received numerous
performance evaluations, for nine years, Plaintiff
received no performance evaluations or writings
which timely documented belated criticism
of her work.
Lollie
v. LADWP - Race Discrimination: Failure to
Promote
$100,000 settlement and promotion to Senior
Electrical Mechanic Supervisor (“SEMS”)
in 2005, for a 33-year African American DWP
employee. Plaintiff had been passed over for
promotion from 2nd Level Supervisor, and repeatedly
told that his prospects for promotion would
increase if he transferred out of his department.
No other non-African American employee was
ever required to transfer out of Station Maintenance
as a prerequisite for being promoted to SEMS.
Brown v. LADWP - Race
& Gender Discrimination
$467,000 settlement and six months paid early
retirement leave for a 28-year female African
American DWP employee in 2004. Plaintiff held
the position of lead Utility Marketing Representative
(“UMR”) in Energy Rates and Contracts
(“Rates”). The male SUMR for Rates
retired leaving a vacancy for which plaintiff
was highly qualified, having been the lead
in Rates with most seniority. In the logical
progression of the civil service ladder, SUMR
was the only promotion available to her. Defendant
elected to leave the SUMR position vacant,
rather than groom Plaintiff for appointment
with a temporary appointment. Rates was the
only unit where the presence of two female
leads made the appointment of a female SUMR
likely, and the only SUMR which the DWP elected
to leave vacant. The SUMR position was eventually
posted ,then withdrawn, after the published
certification list showed that Plaintiff had
outperformed the male candidates.
Abramovitz v. County of Los
Angeles - Gender/Race Discrimination and Retaliation
$375,000 settlement in 2007, for a 27-year
Jewish female employee of Environmental Health
Services (“EHS”). Plaintiff held
the title of Chief EHS for over 18 years and
was passed over for promotion, despite being
well qualified. During an internal office
meeting of approximately 30 members of management
and peers, Plaintiff complained that poor
morale was not based on dissatisfaction with
low pay, but the perception that promotions
were based on favoritism. Plaintiff was publicly
chastised and twenty days later was abruptly
reassigned to a remote, isolated, undesirable
location. Plaintiff's daily commute time was
tripled, in a form of retaliation known as
"freeway therapy".
Steiner
v. City of Los Angeles, Port Authority - Age
Discrimination and Retaliation
$425,000 settlement in 2007 for failure to
promote a 62 year old caucasian male Electrician
Supervisor. Two men two levels below Plaintiff,
ages 36 and 48, with less electrical or managerial
experience and qualifications, were selected
for promotion one level above the Plaintiff,
who had been Electrician Supervisor for five
years. Procedures required that the Plaintiff
grieve the discriminatory promotion to the
promotee, who promptly transferred substantial
electrical job duties away from the Plaintiff’s
supervision. No investigation was conducted
of Plaintiff’s complaints of discrimination
or retaliation.
Canchola
v. County of Los Angeles, EHS - Disability
Discrimination
$325,000 settlement in 2007 for an 18-year
Environmental Health employee diagnosed with
sleep apnea and related sleep disorders. Plaintiff
was assigned to Management Information Systems,
where plaintiff performed web maintenance
and data queries. Plaintiff had no disciplinary
or attendance problems prior to his diagnosis.
Supervisors refused to believe the severity
of Plaintiff's sleep problems, attributed
attendance issues to laziness and apathy,
failed to engage in the interactive process,
failed to follow its own established interactive
procedures, and refused Plaintiff's requests
for reasonable accommodation (e.g., to telecommute,
flexible work schedule). Plaintiff was subjected
to retaliation in the form of reprimands and
negative performance evaluations for tardiness
correlated to Plaintiff's diagnosed sleep
apnea.
Gibson v.
County of Los Angeles, USC Hospital - Race
and Disability Discrimination
$300,000 settlement for an African American,
female, 24-year County of LA, USC Hospital
employee. Plaintiff was diagnosed with Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome of both hands and chronic
back complaints. Plaintiff was removed from
Acting Supervisor duties, reassigned to tasks
that caused re-injury of her right hand, and
denied the requested accommodation of an ergonomic
desk reserved for supervisors. All non-African
American employees relocated to larger work
locations that would accommodate their requests
for ergonomic desks. Plaintiff was offered
one accommodation: to receive an ergonomic
desk only if she agreed to relocate to a known
“sick” room, which was ultimately
determined unsafe and sealed off by maintenance. |
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