EMPLOYMENT LAW VERDICT UPDATE. A Report of Verdicts from Across the State (July 2014 February 2015) By Uzo N. Nwonwu 1

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1 EMPLOYMENT LAW VERDICT UPDATE A Report of Verdicts from Across the State (July 2014 February 2015) By Uzo N. Nwonwu 1 Janice Turner v. Kansas City, MO School District Date of August 21, CV13385 Justine E. Del Muro Plaintiff, 52 years old, worked as a secretary for the school district for 20 years before her termination in August Plaintiff alleged that her age was a contributing factor in her termination. Plaintiff also alleged that Defendant retaliated against her for filing a charge of discrimination with the Kansas City Department of Human Relations. Defendant denied Plaintiff s allegations and alleged that Plaintiff had numerous performance and behavior problems which Defendant had repeatedly addressed. After Plaintiff filed her charge of discrimination, Defendant transferred Plaintiff to a new school to give her a fresh start. Defendant maintained that Plaintiff s performance issues continued and ultimately resulted in her termination. $87,500 for Plaintiff s retaliation claim ($50,000 in compensatory damages and $37,500 in punitive damages). For Defendant in age discrimination claim. Patricia Mills v. Cerner Corporation and Bryan Ritter Date of August 22, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Clay County 11CY-CV00150 Janet Sutton Disability discrimination and retaliation Plaintiff was employed as a solutions consultant for Defendant Cerner and gave presentations to potential customers interested in buying Cerner products. Shortly after being placed on a performance improvement plan, Plaintiff took leave for claimed anxiety, stress and depression. After being out on leave for three months, Plaintiff sought an additional two-month leave period. 1 Uzo N. Nwonwu is an associate at Littler Mendelson, P.C. in Kansas City. She focuses her practice on employment litigation and counseling. This report is based on information obtained from Westlaw, Lexis, and Kansas City Jury Verdict Service.

2 Defendant Cerner denied the leave and Plaintiff sued for disability discrimination. Plaintiff was terminated on April 6, She thereafter brought a retaliation claim alleging that her termination was due to a prior complaint of gender discrimination made by a coworker. Defendants denied Plaintiff s claims and alleged that Plaintiff s termination was based on her deficient performance and the business needs of her team. Defendant Ritter was dismissed from the action the day trial commenced. For Defendant Loyd Broyles v. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Date of August 28, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Clay County 11CY-CV Janet Sutton Disability discrimination Plaintiff worked for Defendant as a commercial truck driver from 2008 until June 23, Plaintiff was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while employed by Defendant, and claimed that he inquired whether he could take two medications his doctor had recommended for the condition. Defendant advised that Plaintiff would need re-certification to ensure that he was still qualified to drive. Plaintiff took the recertification test and passed it. After receiving additional information regarding one of the recommended medications for Plaintiff s condition, Defendant required that Plaintiff take a second re-certification test. As part of the second re-certification test, the Department of Transportation required Plaintiff to take a skill performance evaluation, which Plaintiff did not produce. Because Plaintiff did not produce the skill performance evaluation, the Department of Transportation denied his re-certification. Plaintiff s employment was terminated by Defendant due to the denial of Plaintiff s re-certification. Plaintiff alleged his termination was discriminatory on the basis of his disability. Defendant denied Plaintiff s allegations and maintained that they were forced to terminate Plaintiff s employment because they believed he was not qualified to drive a commercial vehicle. For Plaintiff. $45, in compensatory and $1,000, in punitive damages. Richard Inglima v. City of Lee s Summit, MO, Joseph Piccinini, and Mark Liebig Date of September 4, CV34362 Robert M. Schieber Age discrimination 2

3 Plaintiff was a 46 year old employee of the Lee s Summit Police Department, and had been employed by the Lee s Summit Police Department for nearly 20 years. Plaintiff applied for a bomb squad supervisor position, but the position was filled by a younger (33 years old) sergeant. Plaintiff filed suit alleging age discrimination. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant Liebig recommended the younger sergeant for the position and that the Police Chief, Defendant Piccinini, followed the recommendation because the City has a 10 year commitment requirement for the bomb squad. Plaintiff admitted that the 10-year commitment, which was required due to the expense and time required to train a bomb technician, was reasonable, but alleged that Defendant Liebig told him, I need to consider the long-term welfare of the unit and I need to have someone who can be here to instruct for 10 years. Defendant Liebig admitted that he stated he needed to consider the long-term welfare of the unit, but denied making the specific quote attributed to him. Defendants denied all other allegations. For Defendants Hiram A. Lytch v. Johnson Controls, Inc., David Price, and Robert Rasenberg Date of September 24, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Sixth Judicial Circuit, Platte County 13AE-CV02936 James W. Van Amburg Race discrimination and retaliation Plaintiff, who is African American, worked as a temporary employee for Defendant Johnson Controls from October 2011 until his termination on February 3, Plaintiff made auto seats on Defendant Johnson Controls assembly line. Plaintiff alleged he complained of race discrimination, and specifically that he was given inferior equipment because of his race. Plaintiff alleged that after his complaint of race discrimination, he was terminated one week before the remaining temporary employees were released from work. Defendants denied all allegations. $17,196 for Plaintiff. $1,596 in actual damages and $ in punitive damages. Bryan Krantz v. Jackson County, MO and Jean Peters-Baker Date of October 21, CV12610 James P. Williams (visiting) 3

4 Plaintiff, age 62 years old, worked as an assistant prosecutor for Jackson County for over 24 years. Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination in 2009 alleging age discrimination in connection with a comment allegedly overheard regarding the hiring of younger workers and paying them less money to perform Plaintiff s job. Plaintiff alleges that he was thereafter placed on a performance improvement plan and ultimately terminated on August 9, 2011 in retaliation for filing the 2009 charge. Defendants denied Plaintiff s allegations and claimed there were legitimate non-retaliatory reasons for Plaintiff s termination. Sandra Meyer v. Union Pacific Railway Company and Pat Foley Date of October 23, 2014 Jackson County 1216-CV17990 Robert M. Schieber Sexual harassment Plaintiff currently works as a laborer for Defendant Union Pacific, a position she has held since January In 2008, Plaintiff claimed that a coworker (not Defendant Foley) sexually assaulted her by grabbing her breasts, trying to kiss her, and telling her that he wanted to have an affair. Plaintiff claimed that she rebuffed the coworker and reported the assault to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Plaintiff claimed that no action was taken. When another coworker informed the EAP of Plaintiff s emotional state, Defendant Union Pacific referred Plaintiff to a mental health worker. The alleged assaulter was transferred to a different yard but was moved back to Plaintiff s work location in Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination after she was interviewed about the incident. Plaintiff thereafter continued working with the alleged assaulter until she suffered a breakdown in The alleged assaulter was once again transferred to a different location. Plaintiff alleged that she had previous mental health issues that were under control until the assault and further alleged that after his return to the yard, the alleged assaulter s actions became bolder and taunting toward Plaintiff. Defendants denied Plaintiff s allegations and at trial, argued that Plaintiff was delusional, the assault never happened, and that because the alleged assaulter was never found guilty of anything, he could work at any location. Shelby Monaco v. Union Pacific Railway Company Date of November 21, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Clay County 1216-CV02342 James Dale Youngs Sexual harassment 4

5 Beginning in 2005, Plaintiff worked as a clerk for Defendant, driving crews to and from their trains. Plaintiff alleged that a coworker, who was not a party to the lawsuit, sexually harassed her from June through November 2010, when Plaintiff complained and her coworker was terminated. Plaintiff alleged that the coworker sat very close to her, but that no physical contact took place. Plaintiff attempted to present evidence of other coworkers who had supposedly been harassed by the same individual. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant failed to follow its own zero tolerance policy. Defendant maintained that Plaintiff did not report the purported harassment for six months and when she did, Defendant investigated and the coworker was terminated. For Plaintiff. $20,000 in actual damages. No punitive damages awarded. Deborah Moriarty v. Kansas City, MO School District Date of December 19, CV21653 S. Margene Burnett Plaintiff, 59 years old, had worked for the school district for 20 years and was an elementary school teacher at the time of her termination. The school principal recommended Plaintiff s termination but Plaintiff resigned before the Board of Education could make a final decision regarding Plaintiff s employment. Plaintiff claimed that she was forced out of her position. Plaintiff brought suit for age discrimination and retaliation. Defendant denied Plaintiff s allegation and responded that Plaintiff was a poor performing teacher who was terminated for insubordination. Mary Page v. The Pembroke Hill School and Steve Bellis Date of February 20, CV23381 Charles H. McKenzie Retaliation Plaintiff was the principal at Defendant Pembroke Hill. Plaintiff alleged that she was retaliated against for voicing her opposition to the decision by the school not to call the police after a male teacher was terminated for violating the school s sexual harassment policy. Plaintiff alleged that 5

6 the male teacher was taking inappropriate photos (including under dress photos) of female teachers. Plaintiff claimed that after opposing the decision to not call the police, she received a negative memorandum which prompted her to quit her employment with Defendant. Plaintiff reapplied for her former position but did not get the job. Plaintiff filed this action alleging retaliation. Defendants denied Plaintiff s claims and allegations. Deanna L. McClurg v. Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission Date of November 7, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Buchanan County 13BU-CV3069 Randall R. Jackson Age and sex discrimination Plaintiff, a 52 year old female, was a long term employee of Defendant beginning as a maintenance crew member and then becoming a supervisory employee. Plaintiff alleged that she was satisfactorily performing her job duties but that during a period of restructuring, Defendant refused to appoint Plaintiff to any one of ten supervisor positions. Plaintiff also alleged that she reapplied for various positions that were ultimately given to younger male employees, whereas Plaintiff was demoted to a non-supervisory maintenance worker position. Plaintiff alleged that she worked in the demoted position for 17 months before being forced to retire, which she would not have otherwise done. Defendant denied Plaintiff s allegations and argued that it was going through an economic crisis which required it to cut down on the number of supervisor positions available. In order to find the most qualified individual for each position, Defendant required that employees participate in a competitive interview process. Defendant also claimed that Plaintiff declined a lateral appointment. For Plaintiff. $350,000 for Plaintiff in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. Elaine Justus v. Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission Date of December 11, 2014 Circuit Court of Missouri, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Buchanan County 13BU-CV01499 Randall R. Jackson 6

7 Plaintiff, who was 62 at the relevant time, alleged that she was demoted and eventually discharged from her position as a community relations manager with Defendant, which she had held for over 14 years. Plaintiff alleged that she had satisfactorily performed her job duties and consistently earned positive remarks on her job performance, but was not reappointed to her position during a period of restructuring. Plaintiff claimed this was because of her age and seniority. Plaintiff also alleged that she was asked her age during a quarterly review, and alleged this was done for the purpose of communicating to her that she was getting too old for her continued retention and/or to elicit some potential remark from Plaintiff regarding retirement. Thereafter, a younger by approximately 23 years employee was appointed to Plaintiff s position and Plaintiff was demoted to a lower-compensated position. Plaintiff alleged that she was subsequently discharged from her demoted position in retaliation for complaining about age discrimination. Defendant denied Plaintiff s allegations and claimed that Plaintiff s demotion was administrative after she was not selected for the position based on a competitive interview process. Defendant claimed that Plaintiff was given one year to seek and obtain a permanent position within the company but chose not to do so, opting to retire in lieu of layoff. For Plaintiff. $87,790 for Plaintiff in compensatory damages and $840,000 in punitive damages. The jury returned compensatory damages of $87,790 on each of two separate verdict directors but the parties agreed that the amount represented the total amount of compensatory damages. 7