A Sacramento woman has scored a major win against her former employer, which she accused of gender and age discrimination. The woman has obtained some $4 million from a jury trial in connection with the case against Bass Underwriters, a Florida-based company that runs the California location. The woman had worked as a broker at the firm for 15 years before she was ousted from her position because of the discrimination. Now, a younger male worker still holds her job — but it appears that she has had the last laugh against the discriminatory firm.
The woman was 58 at the time that she was dismissed from her job. Always a high-performer, she apparently became a target after she pushed for a promotion for a subordinate female employee. Alleging that the company had become a “boy’s club,” the woman soon found herself confronted with inappropriate questions from others in the workplace, who inquired about whether she was intending to retire soon. Her age became a free topic in the workplace, causing strife and ultimately leading to her dismissal.
Bass Underwriters of course argues that the woman’s dismissal was due to poor performance and the fact that employee turnover increased during her tenure. The California office apparently lost eight employees to the competition during the woman’s time in Sacramento, which the company says justified the firing. Attorneys added that while the firing may have been unfair, it did not have anything to do with discrimination.
All of those arguments appear moot at this point, as the woman is walking away with a significant financial judgment for both compensation and punitive damages. California firms are not permitted to discriminate based on age or gender, and victims should not have to suffer through the illegal loss of their jobs simply because of someone else’s prejudice. Attorneys can help victims solve these problems by seeking legal action in civil court.
Source: The Sacramento Bee, “Carmichael woman wins multimillion-dollar age discrimination suit,” Darrell Smith, Oct. 15, 2015
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