According to articles in The Citizen of Laconia and The Concord Monitor, a federal jury last week awarded $400,000 to a drywall installation worker who claimed that the company she worked for had created a hostile work environment for a female employee.
Nicole L’Etoile had worked as a drywaller for about twenty years when she started working for New England Finish Systems in 2002. In her suit she claimed that the company allowed male supervisors to make crude and offensive remarks about women. Her suit also alleged that she had been laid off because she was female and also that she had been retaliated against because she had filed discrimination complaints against the company.
According to her complaint she was only given work when the job required a woman such as with federal jobsites. She also alleged that as soon as they could they would lay her off. When she called in for more work she was told she’d be hired when the company needed a woman.
L’Etoile had filed discrimination complaints with the state Human Rights Commission which found no probable cause and rejected her appeal. In 2006 she filed her lawsuit with U.S. District Court in Concord. She later hired attorneys to represent her. Mediation failed and the case went to trial.
The jury’s verdict agreed that, because of her sex, she had been subjected to a hostile work environment. They did not agree that she had been laid off because she was female or retaliated against because of her discrimination charges.
Her award of $400,000 included an award for emotional distress, pain and suffering and also a punitive award against the company. However, federal law caps the amount she can receive based on how many employees the company has. The cap in this case is $200,000 and that’s all she will get if the verdict stands.
The company claimed she was given work when her skills were right for the job and has not decided whether to appeal the award.
Jim
Dave