A Washington
State lesbian has been awarded nearly $4.4 million in a
lawsuit she filed against her former employer, Goodyear Tire
& Rubber Co., and a supervisor, alleging unlawful
retaliation that eventually led to her dismissal.
Melissa Sheffield
claimed that her supervisors' negative reaction to
her sexuality was the beginning of a process that
culminated in her demotion and termination.
In a November 8
decision, a jury in King County, Wash., awarded Sheffield
more than $318,000 in lost past wages, more than $40,000 in
lost and future benefits, and $4 million in emotional
distress in a suit filed against the company and her
former supervisor, Randy Reich.
According to a
court brief filed by her attorneys, Sheffield, 47, began
working at Goodyear store in Seattle in 1994 and became a
store manager in 1999, a position in which she
won a corporate excellence award. Things started going
downhill at the end of 2002, after she brought her
girlfriend to a managers' dinner that was also attended by
another store manager, Waide Adams.
In 2003, Reich
became Sheffield's new boss, and he made Adams her
new team leader. Within six weeks Reich and Adams began
investigating Sheffield, and they found billing
improprieties and asked her to sign a statement
acknowledging her mistakes. Sheffield complied. Soon after,
a new service manager, Dave Johnson, was transferred
to Sheffield's store. The court brief states
Johnson informed employees he knew Sheffield was
gay and that he didn't like gays. When Sheffield
approached him about his bringing a gun to work (in
violation of Goodyear policy), Johnson threatened to
"pull it out and urinate all over [her] with
it" if Sheffield made him mad. Sheffield
alleged that Reich took no action when she lodged a
complaint against Johnson and was retaliated against when
she took the matter to corporate human resources.
The brief goes on
to report that after a two-month investigation, Johnson
was terminated, but Sheffield was demoted over the billing
irregularities and an accusation from Johnson that she
had engaged in "inappropriate kissing"
at the store with her girlfriend. She was transferred to
another store, where her pay went from $55,000 a year
to $13 an hour. Because of an earlier on-the-job
injury, Sheffield could not work the new job, since it
required heavy lifting. After 18 months on a leave of
absence for full worker's compensation and
physical rehab, Sheffield tried to return to work with
the restriction on heavy lifting. A new district manager who
replaced Reich refused to give her any position, and
Sheffield was terminated. In her suit, Sheffield also
claimed she was denied access to her personnel
records.
"These
events were devastating, but I wanted to take a stand for my
children and my community, and I am grateful for the
jury's courage and understanding,"
Sheffield said in a statement."
"We were
really pleased," said attorney Daniel Johnson, who
handled the case for Sheffield. "We always felt
we were right and we would win. They [the jury] found
the situation was intolerable. It was a strong statement
to employers that this behavior was not acceptable."
In a statement
sent to The Advocate Friday, Goodyear said it
"respectfully disagrees with the jury's
verdict in this case and is reviewing avenues to have
it overturned or reversed. The company cannot discuss
specific details of the case. Goodyear remains
committed to fair work practices, including a work
environment free from any discrimination or
retaliation."
According to the
company's Web site, Goodyear's corporate
nondiscrimination policy includes a zero-tolerance policy
for harassment based on sexual orientation. (Chris
Lisotta, The Advocate)
