Summer 2024 brought a few reminders of what costly challenges employment disputes in California can be, regardless of venue or subject matter. This brief alert simply highlights two recent jury verdicts and the challenge of California employment disputes. 

$6.1 Million Verdict in Whistleblower Retaliation Case

Two former faculty members of University of California (UC), Riverside’s Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, who alleged that they were removed from their positions and constructively discharged after reporting their department chair’s misuse of state funds, were awarded $6.1 million by a California jury. The suit consolidated two complaints brought by Dr. Jeannie Lochhead and Dr. Michele Nelson, both alleging that the University of California Regents had violated the California Whistleblower Protection Act. The doctors claimed that they had been retaliated against after reporting misuse of California state funds, patient safety violations, billing fraud, and conflicts of interest involving the chair of UC Riverside’s Psychiatry and Neuroscience Department.

The plaintiffs alleged that they engaged in protected activity when they raised concerns regarding the use of a $15 million state grant that was intended to expand mental health care and telepsychiatry services for the Inland Empire’s medically underserved population. Instead, they alleged, the department chair used the funds to meet operating expenses and to provide stipends for certain faculty members. After voicing concerns regarding the use of the funds, Nelson alleged that she was demoted and Lochhead alleged that she was removed from a key position. Both alleged that they were forced to resign as a result of the changes to their roles and other conditions they described as “intolerable,” including pay cuts, heightened scrutiny, being excluded from key committees and meetings, and withholding of bonuses, among other reasons.

Each plaintiff sought $18 million in damages, with Nelson being awarded $5.7 million on her claim of constructive discharge, and Lochhead being awarded $400,000 in non-economic damages for her past emotional distress.

$3.5 Million Dollar Verdict in Employment Dispute

A Los Angeles jury awarded Plaintiff Giancarlo Incalza $3,595,000 in his claim against his employer. Incalza alleged that he was terminated shortly before his 60th birthday after having worked for the company for nearly a decade. He alleged that he was discriminated against and harassed based on his age, and that the company falsely represented that he would be eligible for rehire in order to persuade him to sign a severance agreement releasing his claims against the company. The jury found for the defendants on the claims of age discrimination, age harassment, and failure to hire based on age, but awarded $3,595,000 to plaintiff on his false representation claim.  

Cautionary Note

These results are a reminder that California continues to be a hotbed of employment litigation on all fronts. While multimillion-dollar awards to a single plaintiff on these types of claims may be rarity in other states, they are not unusual in California.