Jury Returns $1.7 Million Verdict in Retaliation Lawsuit
An Idaho man has been awarded $1.7 million in damages from a jury in a retaliation lawsuit.
Synopsis of the Lawsuit.
Rich Wright was terminated from his position as Director of the Department of Administration for Ada County, Idaho in January 2013.
Wright sued and alleged he was retaliated against after launching an investigation into a county employee who was accused of misconduct and who had a close friendship with two county commissioners.
Following trial the matter was sent to a jury who required just a few hours to reject the employer's claim that his termination was part of a restructuring plan and returned a verdict in Wright's favor.
Tips to avoid an Employment Retaliation lawsuit:
Exposure to a retaliation lawsuit may result if an employer takes retribution against an employee for engaging in protected activity such as writing the employee up or as in Wright's case terminating the employee.
Examples of protected activity includes:
filing or being a witness in an EEO charge, complaint, investigation, or lawsuit
communicating with a supervisor or manager about employment discrimination, including harassment
answering questions during an employer investigation of alleged harassment
refusing to follow orders that would result in discrimination
resisting sexual advances, or intervening to protect others
requesting accommodation of a disability or for a religious practice
asking managers or co-workers about salary information to uncover potentially discriminatory wages.
Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/retaliation.cfm