Dive Brief:
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. will have to pay $103 million to a former employee who alleged the company discriminated against and harassed her because of her age, among other claims, according to court documents.
- The worker alleged that she was terminated in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act after taking short-term disability leave to manage her high blood pressure, which had worsened because of her hostile work environment, per court filings in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (Slagel v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.).
- A jury in early December found the insurance company had committed age harassment, discrimination and retaliation and awarded the former worker $83 million in punitive damages, $15 million for past noneconomic losses and $5 million for future noneconomic losses. Liberty Mutual did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dive Insight:
The former employee filed the lawsuit against Liberty Mutual in January 2017, after being terminated in June of the previous year.
She was granted short-term disability leave from April 19, 2016, to June 29, 2016, but was told that a courier would pick up her company laptop while she was on leave, without explanation. Upon her return to work, her parking card and badge didn’t work, and she was immediately called into a conference room, where she was allegedly fired without reason.
“Her employment was terminated for illegal reasons based on her age and disability after 31 years of loyal service to Liberty Mutual,” according to the complaint.
The plaintiff said she was among a slew of workers who were terminated for their age and that she was replaced with a worker in his 20s.
Lawyers for the plaintiff said this is “believed to be the largest age discrimination verdict ever recorded in the United States.”
“This verdict is a resounding message to corporations nationwide: age discrimination is illegal, it is harmful, and juries will hold employers accountable,” Justin Shegerian, lead trial attorney and founder of Shegerian & Associates, said in a statement.
