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Store employee wins $95M sexual harassment verdict 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: January 17, 2012

Tags: assault, sexual harassment, Top Ten Jury Verdicts, Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2011

An Illinois federal jury has awarded a $95 million verdict – including $80 million in punitive damages – to a store worker who claimed she was sexually harassed and assaulted by a manager while the company turned a blind eye.

“[The employer] had a policy that no one had to report complaints of sexual harassment unless they actually witnessed it,” said Benedict Morelli, the plaintiff’s lead counsel at trial. “It was a sexual harassment policy that protected the company, not the employees.”

2011 employment law news wrap-up 

Published: December 28, 2011

Tags: cat’s paw theory, E-verify, EEOC, employee misclassification, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, ERISA, fair labor standards act, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, sexual harassment, social media, social media policies

Employment law has been a hot practice area and 2011 did not disappoint. Here are some of the highlights of the past year’s most notable employment law stories:

Hospital patient wins $67.4M for nurse’s sexual assault 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: December 5, 2011

Tags: California, hospital, negligent retention, nurse, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment

A California jury has awarded $67.4 million to a woman who claimed that a male nurse sexually assaulted her following a surgical procedure.

Winning attorney Michael Piuze suggested in closing arguments that the jury award $10 million in punitive damages. It came back with $65 million.

$1.6 million in settlements reached in coroner sex harassment fiasco 

Published: November 4, 2011

Tags: Colorado, retaliation, sexual harassment

Adams County, Colo. officials have agreed to pay $650,000 to settle claims by a forensic pathologist who claimed former County Coroner James Hibbard retaliated against him for protesting sexual harassment of female employees — the last in a string of lawsuits over bad behavior in and out of the autopsy suite that’s cost taxpayers in excess of a million dollars.

Company settles sex harassment case for $463,000 

Published: October 17, 2011

Tags: California, sexual harassment

An Orange County, Calif. pool cleaning supply company will pay nearly $463,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a federal agency that found at least eight female employees had been sexually harassed.

Church can be sued for sexual discrimination 

Published: September 27, 2011

Tags: First Amendment, hostile work environment, sexual harassment

The First Amendment does not completely bar sexual discrimination claims brought against a church by a former ministerial employee, Maryland’s highest court has ruled.

State not liable for judge’s sexual harassment 

Published: September 9, 2011

Tags: Faragher/Ellerth, sexual harassment, Title VII, vicarious liability

A state is not liable under federal discrimination law for a judge’s alleged sexual harassment of a court employee, the 10th Circuit has ruled in affirming a summary judgment.

EEOC sues contractor for retaliation 

Published: September 7, 2011

Tags: EEOC, retaliation, sexual harassment, Virginia

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has accused Huntington Ingalls and a subcontractor of firing two male workers in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment.

Restaurant settles sexual harassment suit with EEOC 

Published: September 7, 2011

Tags: North Dakota, sexual harassment

A judge approved a $1 million settlement for 17 women who said they were sexually harassed by a manager at an Applebee’s restaurant, an agreement believed to be the largest of its kind in North Dakota history, a federal attorney said.

Employee can introduce ‘me too’ evidence of harassment 

Published: August 15, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, sexual harassment

An employment discrimination plaintiff can introduce evidence of harassment directed at other employees even though the activity happened outside the plaintiff’s presence and not while the plaintiff was employed at the company, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in reversing a jury verdict for the employer.