A Los Angeles jury just sent Liberty Mutual Insurance a $103 million message—and it’s this: the numbers matter. Workforce statistics, age patterns, and data…
Verdicts & Settlements
Sexual Harassment Case Ends in $5.5 Million Verdict
On January 16, 2026, a jury awarded an employee $5.5 million in a sexual harassment and retaliation case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. A former security guard for a private security firm in Atlanta sued for hostile work environment, negligence, and unlawful discharge.
Third Circuit Ruling Makes It Easier for Employers to Settle Hybrid Wage and Hour Actions
Takeaways
Teacher’s $10 Million Jury Award in School Shooting Case Highlights Administrators’ Duties to Heed Violence Threats
An elementary school teacher shot by a six-year-old student was recently awarded $10 million in damages by a jury in Virginia, according to multiple reports. The case was brought against the former assistant principal, who allegedly failed to act on a warning that the student had a gun. The case,
Recent U.S. Tax Court Opinion Illustrates How Language in Settlement Agreements Can Determine Tax Treatment of Payments
Recent U.S. Tax Court Opinion Illustrates How Language in Settlement Agreements Can Determine Tax Treatment of Payments
In Mennemeyer v. Commissioner,1 the United States Tax Court reminds us that a settlement agreement that is not carefully drafted can have significant tax consequences.
Background
tgelbman@littler.com Mon, 08/04/2025 – 09:44
New York Federal Court Ruling Highlights a Potential Pitfall in Settlement Agreement Enforcement
On January 8, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that an employee’s refusal to sign a confidentiality and nondisparagement acknowledgment form annexed to a settlement agreement resolving discrimination and retaliation claims invalidated the entire agreement.
Court Holds Backup Withholding Required by Law Does Not Violate a Settlement Agreement
In Escano v. Innovative Financial Partners, LLC,1 a magistrate judge held that the defendants’ decision to withhold funds from a payment required under a settlement agreement when the plaintiff refused to provide a Form W-9 did not violate the agreement.
Tax Court Reiterates the Proper Tax Treatment of “Physical Injuries” in Employment Cases
In Stassi v. Commissioner,1 the United States Tax Court found that a settlement was not excludable from income as a personal physical injury because the taxpayer failed to demonstrate that her shingles was caused by her employer’s workplace.
Former Winery Employees Awarded $11 million
Plaintiffs Megan Meadowcroft and Amanda Brown, two winery employees, alleged that they had been harassed on numerous occasions by their supervisor, General Manager Pinero. Specifically, Brown alleged that Pinero attempted to flirt with her, and physically made contact with her. Meadowcroft alleged that Pinero made sexually explicit gestures, sexually explicit comments, put his hands on her waist and under her buttocks as she was serving customers, and on at least one occasion told her that she could be a manager if she would have sex with him. Along with a claim of harassment, they filed claims of retaliation, failure to prevent harassment/retaliation, and negligent supervision, retention, and hiring.
Airline Ordered to Pay Flight Attendants $77 Million in Damages
A class of flight attendants in a case involving alleged violations of California’s wage and hour laws was awarded $77 million in damages. In so doing, the judge rejected the airline’s challenges to the plaintiff’s damages model and reduced the damages requested by the workers by only $8 million. Bernstein et al. v. Virgin America Inc., No. 3:15-cv-02277 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2019).
A $6M Misunderstanding? Pennsylvania Jury Finds Age and National Origin Discrimination
Following a five-day trial, and nine hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Pennsylvania has awarded more than $6 million to a former Teva Pharmaceuticals employee. Middlebrooks v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., No. 2:17-cv-00412 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 19, 2018). The employee claimed that the company discriminated against him on the basis of his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and on the basis of his national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and retaliated against him for lodging internal complaints.
No Liability for School in $4-Million Gender Discrimination Suit, Jury Finds
A federal jury concluded that the former Superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District failed meet her burden of proving she was terminated based on her gender and pregnancy status. Accordingly, the District was not liable for the more than $4 million in damages sought.
Scientist Awarded $3M by Pennsylvania Jury in Gender Discrimination Suit
A federal jury recently awarded a female scientist $3M for her gender discrimination claims against PPG Industries, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Half of the award was for emotional distress damages.
Florida Jury Awards Former University Registrar $310,500 In Retaliation Suit
A jury recently returned a $310,500 verdict in favor of a former University of South Florida employee on her retaliation claim against the University. DeBose v. USF Board of Trustees, et al, No. 8:15-cv-02787 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 26, 2018). The former employee, Angela DeBose, claimed she was retaliated against because she had filed internal race bias complaints with the University and a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge of discrimination.
Pennsylvania Jury Finds Female Professor’s Retaliation Claims Pass the Test
A federal jury has awarded a female professor lost earnings and punitive damages on two counts of employment retaliation, despite rejecting her claim of sex discrimination in a university’s distribution of coveted teaching assignments. Baugh v. Robert Morris University, No. 2016-cv-430 (W.D. Pa. Sept. 11, 2018).