In early March 2012, a former physician assistant in the cardiac unit of a
Sacramento hospital was awarded $168 million in damages for
workplace harassment
which included $125 million in punitive damages and $42.7 million for lost
wages and mental anguish.
The verdict is believed to be a record amount in the US for any single worker.
The plaintiff complained at least 18 times over two years before getting
fired. Her complaints included, among other things, that a surgeon’s way of
saying good morning was to declare, “I’m horny” and give her a slap on the
butt. She also claimed that another surgeon liked to demean her Armenian
heritage and would ask whether she belonged to al-Qaeda.
If you believe that you may have been harassed or if you are an employer that
has questions about whether you are adequately responding to employee
complaints, we encourage you to seek the counsel of Wilson McCoy, P.A..