Disability Discrimination Jury Verdict
On April 21, 2011, after a two-week trial and 13 hours of deliberations, a jury rendered a verdict finding that a social worker, represented by Margaret McIntyre and John Beranbaum, was discriminated against because of her disability when she was denied a promotion. The case was heard in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York.
The case is Siracuse v. Program for Development of Human Potential. In a nutshell, the plaintiff, a social worker with 16 years tenure and terrific qualifications, had cancer and received treatment for the better part of a year. She had to miss work intermittently that year for her treatment and the resulting fatigue. After her treatment was over and her cancer was in remission, a supervisory position opened up at the agency. Despite having a Masters of Social Work degree, she was passed over for the position in favor of a person without an advanced degree and who, we asserted, lacked comparable experience. For their part, the agency claimed that they were under financial pressure and had eliminated the position, distributing its responsibilities to other people.
The jury found that defendant discriminated against plaintiff because of her cancer, in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law. However, they found no violation of the anti-retaliation provision under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The jury granted the plaintiff all of her economic damages ($38,500) and $40,000 in pain and suffering damages, with the judge to decide the amount of attoreny’s fees due plaintiff.