Total bill for retaliation charge: 4.5 mil
July 24, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Recent Decisions
Recent Supreme Court cases have shown how tough defending retaliation claims can be. And now, a new verdict shows how expensive it is, too.
Here’s what happened:
An employee of the city of Cambridge, MA, filed a discrimination suit against the city. The case was thrown out.
But for the next five years, she claimed, her manager over-scrutinized her work and gave her unfair reviews, in an attempt to force her to quit. Eventually, she was told she was getting fired, and she resigned.
She took the city to court again. But this time, a jury awarded her $4.5 million for retaliation.
That’s a tough lesson about keeping managers trained on how to handle employees who’ve taken protected action.
Tags: $4.5 million, Cambridge, retaliation
July 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I was told by a Division President at a past place of employment to do something illegal. I was the plant HR Manger. He dismissed the rest of the staff when he gave me the instruction and the only other person present was the Division VP of Manufacturing. When I tried to inform him that was he was requiring was not legal, he cut me off in mid-sentence and told me he KNEW what the law said. Then he reiterated his instruction and told me no one else could authorize me to do differently…he was the only one who could rescind his order. He then told me I would be committing an insubordinate act if I didn’t obey.
I agonized over the situation because losing my job was going to hurt me significantly as it was my sole means of support. But I couldn’t let them steal my integrity, so I fearfully refused to do what he demanded. Two weeks later, I was told it was time for me to “move on down the road” (that’s exactly what the Corporate VP of HR told me). The company then gave me a poor reference and it took over a year for me to find a new job.
I couldn’t afford to take this company to court and they knew it. I wonder how many other people like myself are out there who have been blatantly retaliated against for refusing to do something that wasn’t legal. I still wish I could have taken them to court because they shouldn’t have gotten away with what they did. But my guess is, most people can’t afford a lengthy and costly court battle. While some attorney’s will work on a percentage of settlement basis, it still costs a lot to pursue, especially emotionally. I was totally broken afterward and it still hurts. In my view, when a company treats an employee unfairly in retaliation, it should cost. My job is to make sure the company doesn’t do these kinds of things to employees. But I couldn’t protect myself.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
R.B I’d be interested to know what company you worked for because the exact thing happened to me and my HR team, we were all let go when we refused to comply with obvious disrimination. We tried to sue but no one would take our case as we “wouldnt get much” meaning neither would they. We did make the eeoc aware of what they were doing though. Funny what companies can still get away with.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Being fired for refusing to break the law is generally grounds for a wrongful termination suit if the facts can be established with documentation and / or witness statements. Making the “EEOC aware” sometimes means escalating the issue beyond the front-line EEOC employees.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
R.B I to was fired as an HR Manager for refusing to go along with FLSA violations. The company was bringing everyone in salary regardless of duties and requiring them to work enormous hours. After making a phone call to the Dept of Labor….i was fired. I now have a law suit and found an attorney to take my case pro-bono. Yes, I may not get a lot (although I’m hoping to cover the 6 months out of work), but I will not and refuse to allow them to get away with what they’ve done. I hope you change your mind!