A jury has ordered Kaiser Permanente, a California health care provider, to pay a former charge nurse more than $41 million in damages for her age and disability discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, retaliation, and wrongful termination lawsuit. The verdict consists of $11.49 million in compensatory damages, including $9 million for emotional distress and $30 million in punitive damages. Kaiser intends to appeal the verdict.
In 2019, Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center in Los Angeles fired the nurse. She claimed that a supervisor and other employees made multiple comments about her age, retirement, and her allegedly taking advantage of younger employees. She also alleged that she was terminated after a workplace accident led to her disability. Finally, the nurse claims that Kaiser retaliated against her for raising concerns about patient care and safety due to chronic understaffing.
Kaiser alleged that the nurse was not performing her job properly and could not prove that either her age or her disability caused her termination, as they decided to terminate her before she took disability leave. They also claimed that the statements made by the supervisor and other employees were isolated and did not amount to harassment.
California has some of the strongest state laws regulating employee and employer relationships. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which applies to all employers with five or more employees, prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on several protected grounds, including age and disability.
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