Last year, a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $2 million to former Oakland police officer Janeith Glenn-Davis, who claimed she was passed over for promotion because she was pregnant. The damages included $150,000 in lost earnings plus $1.85 million for emotional distress and other damages.
Glenn-Davis, who was the highest-ranking female police lieutenant on the Oakland police force and next on the list for promotion, charged that the city conveniently froze promotions until that promotion list expired so it wouldn’t have to promote her. She was pregnant at the time. The city contended she was merely the unfortunate victim of a temporary, but legitimate, promotion freeze that was implemented for budgetary reasons.
Now, a federal judge has slashed the verdict for Glenn-Davis to $550,000, saying that the original $1.85 million in emotional distress damages was “wildly excessive,” particularly in light of the fact that the conduct at issue “was not particularly egregious.” The court wrote: “The court finds it significant that plaintiff challenged a single instance of discrimination—the failure to promote—as opposed to an ongoing course of discriminatory or harassing conduct.”
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Additional Resources:
Pregnancy Discrimination Information U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission