Sacramento Hospital Employee Awarded $168 Million for Harassment, Retaliation

LOS ANGELES—A federal jury in Sacramento, Calif., Feb. 29 unanimously awarded almost $168 million in damages and lost wages to a physician assistant who alleged that she routinely endured vulgarity, obscenity and sexually inappropriate behavior from male co-workers at hospitals owned and operated by Catholic Healthcare West (Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West).

The verdict awarded in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California included compensatory and punitive damages totaling $41.3 million for Ani Chopourian’s sexual harassment claim under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; almost $15 million for her Title VII retaliation claim; ...