A Utah jury awarded a former HR benefits generalist $5 million on Jan. 29, finding that a preponderance of evidence showed her employer, Bristol Hospice, retaliated against her by firing her after she complained about her supervisor’s behavior (Graham v. Bristol Hospice Holdings, Inc.).
According to a lawsuit filed in 2021, the plaintiff complained that her supervisor, a payroll director, subjected her to a hostile work environment. The vice president of HR allegedly investigated her complaint and dismissed it, determining the “behavior was a one-time issue, not a general behavioral concern.” But the behavior continued, per legal documents.
A little under a year later, another employee filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging the payroll director had harassed and discriminated against her.
The plaintiff was interviewed about her co-worker’s complaint and substantiated several of the allegations, according to the lawsuit. A month later, the plaintiff filed a discrimination charge with the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division. After an unsuccessful mediation attempt, the plaintiff withdrew her claim “in an attempt to improve the atmosphere at work,” according to the lawsuit. She was fired a couple months later.
The jury awarded the worker $75,000 for noneconomic damages and $5 million for punitive damages against Bristol Hospice.
April Hollingsworth, the lead attorney for the plaintiff, said in a statement to HR Dive that she was pleased with the jury’s verdict.
“Bristol Hospice’s Executive VP of Human Resources intentionally refused to apply any of the company’s own progressive discipline policies, which she wrote, when she terminated my client after she complained of discrimination,” Hollingsworth said. “That was undoubtedly the basis for the jury’s determination that the company met the ‘malice or reckless indifference’ standard for awarding punitive damages.”
Bristol Hospice did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
EEOC has noted that retaliation can take many forms, including punishing employees for filing or being a witness in an Equal Employment Opportunity charge or investigation. Other forms of protected activity include communicating with a supervisor or manager about harassment, requesting accommodation for a religious practice or disability and refusing to follow orders that would result in discrimination.
