Throughout her tenure at the store, she said the discipline she received, including her termination, was applied in a racially discriminatory manner. Cook said in the case that her efforts to get help from the company's human resources department failed.Ĭook worked at the store for more than eight years, starting part time in the shoe department and working her way up to become one of the top sales associates at the store, generating more than $1 million in sales for Saks per year, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged a racial bias at the store and claimed Black shoppers were profiled when they entered. "Although they were each committed to maintaining Saks reputation as a luxury retailer by providing stellar customer service, her managers deliberately targeted her because of her race." "During Plaintiff's tenure at Saks, she was forced to endure a pervasive pattern of discrimination and retaliation by defendants," the lawsuit said of the store managers. Cook was one of Saks' top sales associate, lawsuit claims "The average case is going to return an average verdict, but if it's a case that shocks the conscience, that shows malice, they're not shy about awarding a large number," he said. Several awards have been bigger in civil cases in Franklin County.įranklin County jurors tend to be conservative in civil cases, he said. While the award in the Cook case is large, putting it in context is tough because few racial discrimination cases go to trial, said Chappelear, with Eastman & Smith law firm. The legislature has put caps in place to limit damages against businesses, but jurors aren't aware of those caps when they deliberate, he said.Ī 2016 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, for example, upheld the reduction of a jury's award of $3.5 million for noneconomic damages to $250,000 to a girl who had been raped by her pastor in Delaware County. The actual amount likely will be reduced once a final judgment is in place, said Steve Chappelear, a Columbus attorney who has tracked jury awards for decades. Seven of the eight jurors agreed to the $7 million award for punitive damages. Story continues Final award likely to be reduced, expert saysĪll eight members of the jury agreed to award Cook a total of $2.3 million for past and future lost wages and noneconomic damages on her separate claims of retaliation and discrimination, court records show. We are disappointed in the jury's decision and plan to appeal the outcome." "Our position remains that there was no discrimination or retaliation involved in this situation. "We do not tolerate employees violating our policies, and reserve the right to hold them accountable in all instances, including through termination," the retailer said in a statement. My hope is that Saks has learned from this andothers who find themselves in my position moving forward are protected."įor its part, Saks continues to defend its actions and Cook's former managers who also were named in the case, and said other associates were terminated for violating the same company policy that Cook violated. There was a process in place built to protect me. It was ignored in violation of Saks’ written policy. "While I can understand that rogue managers and bad employees can lead to bad outcomes likemine, I still cannot fathom how Saks’s internal racial discrimination complaint process completely failed. "This process helped restore the dignity I lost five years ago when I was unlawfully terminated by Saks Fifth Avenue," she said. In a statement issued through her lawyer, Thomas Spyker, Cook thanked the magistrate judge who managed the case, Elizabeta Saken, and the jury. More: Former Equitas Health staff condemn 'disrespectful, degrading and dehumanizing treatment' of Black employees
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