$3.6 Million Settlement for City Employee Subjected to Retaliation and Wrongful Termination. Dickson Levy partners Darci Burrell and Leslie Levy represented a 27-year employee of the City of Emeryville after she was terminated from her job following a psychiatrist’s report that she was "unfit for duty." The employee, who was chief union steward at the time of her termination, had challenged racial discrimination, harassment, and unfair treatment by City management throughout her career. Darci and Leslie charted new legal territory in this case by bringing a claim against the psychiatrist, Dr. Stephen Raffle, for "aiding and abetting" the City in retaliating against their client for her years of anti-discrimination advocacy on behalf of herself and others. On the eve of the jury trial, Emeryville agreed to pay an estimated $3.6 million in damages and attorney’s fees to settle the case. The settlement was a vindication for the employee and restored her good name. Darci and Leslie were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

$750,000 for Female Neurosurgery Resident Alleging Discrimination by UCSF. Dickson Levy partner Sharon Vinick represented an African American woman who alleged that she had been discriminated and retaliated against due to her race and gender, while she was a neurosurgery resident at UCSF. Following her termination for alleged poor performance, Sharon filed suit on her behalf, alleging claims for discrimination, retaliation, and breach of contract. After extensive litigation, the case settled on non-confidential terms. Sharon was with McGuinn, Hillsman & Palefsky when she litigated this case.

$2.4 Million Awarded by Arbitrator for Damages and Attorney’s Fees in Age Discrimination Case. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson represented two older sales representatives who were terminated within days of each other because the company said they did not fit the company’s “image.” With Kathy’s help, the highly experienced and award-winning employees proved their case for age discrimination. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

Jury Verdict And Fees Award In Excess of $1 Million For Woman Subject to Retaliation. Dickson Levy partners Jean Hyams and Darci Burrell tried a case on behalf of a woman who suffered retaliation after she complained repeatedly about sexual and racial harassment on the graveyard shift at Caltrans’ Oakland Transportation Management Center. Members of the jury wept when they rendered a unanimous verdict finding Caltrans liable for maintaining a sexually and racially hostile work environment and subjecting the plaintiff to retaliation. By obtaining a jury verdict and attorneys’ fee award in excess of $1 million, the trial team vindicated the rights of the Caltrans employee and delivered a clear message to employers about the cost of maintaining a work environment in which sexually and racially inappropriate conduct is permitted to thrive. Darci and Leslie were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

$1.2 Million Jury Verdict after BART Failed to Prevent Harassment and Retaliation. A BART employee who had complained about racial harassment by a co-worker and systemic race discrimination brought suit against his employer. Years after the case was originally filed, Dickson Levy partners Darci Burrell and Jean Hyams were brought on to take the case to trial. With only a few months to prepare, Darci and Jean worked feverishly to muster the evidence and prepare the legal arguments that would help prove that BART should be held responsible for the retaliation and harassment suffered by its employee. The jury found in his favor on all counts, in a clear vindication of the mechanic’s rights. Darci and Jean were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

Employer Found Liable for $360,000 and Punitive Damages Because of Mental Disability Discrimination. An Alameda County jury rendered a verdict in favor of a waitress who was fired just one day into her employment after the restaurant management learned she had a mental disability. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson brought the case to trial and negotiated a confidential settlement before the punitive damages phase was completed. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

A confidential resolution resulted from a tenure discrimination case brought on behalf of a university professor alleging gender and disability discrimination. To reach the resolution, Dickson Levy partners Jean Hyams and Leslie Levy combed through thousands of pages of tenure files, deposed high-level university officials, and represented the plaintiff during mediation. Darci and Leslie were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

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Arbitration Award for Employee Terminated After Taking Medical Leave. In a case arbitrated pursuant to a mandatory employment arbitration agreement, Dickson Levy partners Jean Hyams and Leslie Levy won a case for a woman who was terminated from her job after taking time off as medical leave. Since the termination took place as part of a major corporate reorganization and the layoff of hundreds of people, the attorneys had to prove that she was singled out and fired for unlawful reasons. Jean and Leslie were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

Confidential Settlement for Woman Retaliated Against After Taking Medical Leave. A woman who missed work because of her serious health condition was fired by her employer under its "no fault" absence policy. Dickson Levy partner Jean Hyams filed suit on her behalf. The employer ended up footing the bill for the plaintiff’s attorneys fees and paying the plaintiff money damages to avoid a jury trial. Jean was with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when she litigated this case.

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Jury Verdict and Fee Award of over $1 Million for Grocery Clerk who Albertsons Failed to Accommodate. A Marin County jury found that Albertsons violated the civil rights of a grocery clerk by failing to deliver the reasonable accommodation it had promised. Dickson Levy partner Leslie Levy took the case even though it involved only a single incident of failure to accommodate because she was incensed by the way the employer violated the civil rights of its long-time employee. Up against the trial team of Leslie Levy and Jean Hyams, Albertsons lost at trial. The employer lost again when it appealed the verdict. The case charted important new legal territory and now serves as an important legal precedent for other individuals with disabilities. Leslie and Jean were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

Settlement of $600,000 for School Teacher Subject To Disability Discrimination. When the Pleasanton Unified School District refused to provide reasonable accommodations for a veteran school teacher and falsely claimed that the teacher’s disabilities prevented her from performing her job, Dickson Levy partner Leslie Levy filed suit. In the end, the school district agreed to a settlement valued at over $600,000 to redress the wrong it inflicted on the teacher. Leslie was with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when she litigated this case.

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$2.3 Million Settlement for Four Women Alleging Sexual Harassment. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson took on the sexual harassment cases of four women alleging workplace sexual harassment against Chevron. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

$2.4 Million Arbitration Award for Victim of Sexual Harassment by 24 Hour Fitness. While at Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Jean Hyams was a member of the attorney team that represented a corporate sales manager in her sexual harassment claims against her employer, 24 Hour Fitness. The company required their employees to sign away the right to a trial by jury as a condition of their employment, so the claims could only be brought through private arbitration. The result, a $2.4 million award, including $1.2 million in punitive damages was one of the largest awards on record for a single-plaintiff arbitration. After the arbitration, the employer tried to seal the record to keep the plaintiff from publicizing the outcome of her case. Jean Hyams and Leslie Levy fought a successful post-arbitration legal battle for the right to make the company’s misdeeds public so that other employers would learn the costly consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace.

$350,000 Settlement of Lawsuit Against Prominent Attorney. Following the filing of a federal lawsuit, Richard D. Greenfield, a nationally known class action attorney, agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that he used his position of trust to coerce one of his clients into sexual relations while she was dependent on his representation in a complex legal matter. Leslie Levy litigated the case while at Boxer & Gerson, LLP.

Confidential Settlement for Victim of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment. In a sensitive case involving a male manager who coerced a young woman who worked for him to have sexual contact with him, Leslie Levy negotiated a settlement in a confidential amount before a lawsuit had to be filed. Leslie was with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when she litigated this case.

Confidential Settlement for Male Victim of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment. In a case involving a male assistant who was sexually harassed by his manager, Dickson Levy partner Sharon Vinick negotiated a confidential settlement after a lawsuit was filed, but before discovery began. Sharon was with the Vinick Law Firm when she litigated this case.

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$1.2 Million Awarded in Jury Verdict and Attorneys Fees in Whistleblower and National Origin Discrimination Case. A software engineer from China was fired after she complained that her high technology employer was violating U.S. immigration law by paying less than the prevailing wage to foreign workers on H1-B visas. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson took the case to trial in San Mateo County and won. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

$475,000 Settlement for Police Officer Terminated After Refusing To File False Police Report. Dickson Levy partner Jean Hyams brought suit for wrongful termination in violation of public policy on behalf of a police officer who was terminated after he complained to his superiors that he had been unlawfully pressured to falsify a police report. By taking depositions of command officers up the chain of command to the level of chief of police, Jean gathered evidence to show that her client’s complaints were one of the factors motivating the decision to terminate him. Just days before a jury trial was set to begin, the police department agreed to a $475,000 settlement. Jean was with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

Jury Verdict for Coach Who Reported Inappropriate Behavior By Colleague. A swim coach reported that one of her assistant coaches was engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior with minors on the swim team. Her public employer refused to do anything to correct the situation and she resigned from her job rather than sit by and watch the young team members be harmed. Dickson Levy partners Leslie Levy and Jean Hyams won the jury trial, resulting in a six-figure award against the municipality even though the swim coach suffered no wage loss. Leslie and Jean were with Boxer & Gerson, LLP when they litigated this case.

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$5.5 Million Settlement for Truck Drivers Forced To Work Through Meal and Rest Breaks. Sharon Vinick, while still with the Vinick Law Firm, represented a class of truck drivers employed by White Cap Construction, who allegedly were denied their meal and rest breaks. In one of the largest per-employee settlements of a meal and rest break case in the state of California, attorneys negotiated a settlement that led to an average employee payment of almost $10,000.

$27 Million Settlement for Unpaid Overtime on Behalf of Class of Software Engineers. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson brought suit against the high technology giant, Siebel Systems, Inc., on behalf of a class of software engineers, many of whom were foreign nationals working under H1-B visas. The result was not only one of the largest class action settlements of its kind in the nation, but also one of the highest claims rates. Over 95% of the individual class members filed claims to receive their $25-50,000 share of the settlement. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

$8.8 Million Class Settlement on Behalf of Women Claiming Discrimination in Pay and Promotion. Dickson Levy partner Kathy Dickson headed a large team of attorneys to gather the evidence needed to prove that Chevron was engaged in systemic discrimination against women when it came to pay and promotion. The case, which also involved allegations of sexual harassment against four individual women, is renowned as one of the largest “glass ceiling” cases in the nation. Kathy was with Dickson-Ross LLP when she litigated this case.

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