We frequently write about the kinds of mistreatment that many Americans face on a regular basis in the workplace. Although the law prohibits discrimination, harassment and other forms of mistreatment under numerous circumstances, this kind of mistreatment persists. When workers who have suffered in the workplace are brave enough to speak up about their situations, they are not always rewarded for their efforts. Sometimes they experience indifference, additional mistreatment or they lose their cases in court due to some kind of technicality.
However, sometimes justice is served in significant ways when workers speak up about the mistreatment they have suffered. In addition to educating the public about their story and holding their employer accountable for this mistreatment, some individuals are awarded monetary damages for the harm that they have suffered. For example, one woman was recently awarded $13 million in damages after she experienced gender discrimination in the workplace.
This woman served in the United States Air Force for more than 20 years. During her time in the Air Force, she became an expert in inventory and equipment management. She was hired as an expert by an employer who later fired her after complaining about retaliation she had suffered for reporting sexist language and demeaning false allegations related to her character.
Although not every legitimate case results in significant monetary damages and the accountability that wronged workers seek, many do. In this case, a jury insisted that the employer had discriminated against the worker after creating a hostile work environment. The jury also agreed that the worker had been wrongfully terminated. As a result of these events, she was awarded a staggering $13 million.
Source: New Jersey Herald, “Jury awards woman more than $13M in employment bias case,” Joe Mandak, April 20, 2015