Retaliation Results in Big Jury Award

About a year ago, I did a post on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. As noted in the post, the case was sent back to the trial court for a jury trial.

Vicky Crawford alleged that she had been fired in retaliation for participating in a sexual harassment investigation. The district court and then the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found Crawford’s conduct wasn’t protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because merely answering questions during an investigation didn’t constitute opposition to discrimination or harassment and because Crawford hadn’t filed a formal charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts’ findings. The Court ruled that the fact that Crawford had responded to someone else’s questions, rather than provoking the discussion herself, didn’t change the fact that her statements were made in opposition to perceived sexual harassment in the workplace.

Crawford’s jury trial recently occurred. (Click here and here.) The jury returned a verdict of $1.5 million in Crawford’s favor. The Supreme Court’s decision and the jury verdict in this case are reminders that retaliation claims must be taken seriously. If they lead to a jury trial and the jury believes the employee, have your check book handy.