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The East Bay Municipal Utility District lost an appeal last week in a nearly $8 million federal employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by two of its former attorneys.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a federal jury’s June 2023 verdict, which concluded that the utility and its former chief counsel retaliated against the lawyers and essentially forced one of them to quit.
“The district court properly concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict,” according to the ruling filed Thursday.
The case was filed in 2021 by Saji Pierce and Ayriel Bland, both women of color, who alleged that EBMUD officials, including then-general counsel Craig Spencer, discriminated against them and then retaliated against them for speaking out about the alleged abuse.
The jury in the case agreed that Spencer and EBMUD retaliated against the women but deadlocked on claims of racial discrimination alleged by Bland and denied a disability discrimination claim by Pierce, according to court filings.
Jurors also found that the defendants treated Bland so poorly that she quit her job.
“The jury heard testimony relating to both specific and general instances of hostility from Spencer,” according to the appeals judges’ ruling. “This hostility resulted in both physical and psychological ramifications for Bland, including stress-induced shingles, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.”
Bland and other witnesses testified that she didn’t receive the same level of training as her peers in the legal department, that she didn’t receive a job performance plan when she was hired, and was “kept in the dark about her responsibilities and how she would be evaluated,” the judges’ ruling said.
The first African American lawyer hired by the utility in 22 years, Bland said she was denied access to basic supplies, like a laptop during the pandemic, and was given a “disproportionately onerous workload, and her colleagues expressed concern that it would lead to burnout,” according to court documents.
Pierce, the other plaintiff in the case, presented evidence during the trial that showed Spencer reprimanded her “without justification” and reassigned some of her longstanding clients and subject areas, according to Thursday’s ruling.
“Pierce argued that Spencer’s false, negative statements about her that were included in an employment investigation were a substantial motivating reason why (EBMUD) board members did not select her as general counsel,” the judges wrote.
One of the women’s lawyers, Bobby Shukla, said the case’s closure was a long time coming.
“The verdict that was just upheld was rendered in 2023, but the case was filed in 2021 and the events that underlie it began in 2019,” Shukla said in an email. “Ms. Pierce and Ms. Bland never wanted to be in this position but they are pleased and relieved it’s over and gratified that justice was served and ultimately affirmed.”
The jury awarded Pierce, who worked for the agency for nearly 18 years, more than $3.7 million in damages and awarded Bland, who was there for about a year and a half, nearly $4.3 million.
During a special closed session meeting on Friday, the EBMUD board voted to approve the payments, in addition to nearly $1.2 million in interest that has accrued.
“While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the judicial process,” EBMUD officials said in an email Monday. “EBMUD remains committed to creating an inclusive workplace that embodies our values of stewardship, integrity, respect and teamwork. Our focus is on moving forward.”
A lawyer for Spencer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
– Story by Kiley Russell, Bay City News Service
