Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Sacramento Senior Counsel Kara Keister and Los Angeles Partner Stephen Ronk secured a unanimous defense verdict after a four-week long jury trial of a gender discrimination and retaliation case heard in Sacramento County Superior Court, Department 39.
The plaintiff was represented by noted Sacramento plaintiff’s attorney Christopher Whelan. Mr. Whelan has numerous large verdicts to his credit in employment cases including a $24 million verdict less than two years ago.
The plaintiff was a claims adjuster for a large insurance company handling large exposure claims and litigated matters. Gordon & Rees' client, the plaintiff’s employer, implemented a training and testing program that required all adjusters in the plaintiff’s unit to take certain mandated training modules and pass a certification examination to remain the their positions. Failing to pass the examination meant that the adjuster would be reassigned to a different unit at a different salary grade. The plaintiff failed to pass the examination and was to be reassigned under the training and testing policy.
The plaintiff claimed that she was discriminated against based on her gender in that women who failed the examination were treated less favorably than men who failed. She also claimed that she was retaliated against after complaining of the discrimination and was subjected to a constructive discharge. The defense contended that the plaintiff chose to resign her employment rather than being transferred.
After a four-week trial, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict for Gordon & Rees' client after less than two hours of deliberations.