SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A San Francisco state court judge has ruled a jury could award punitive damages to a transgender woman alleging discrimination when she worked as a patrol officer at the University of the Pacific.
Nicole Shaw's lawsuit says she was called "dude" by co-workers in 2020-21. Pacific filed a motion for summary adjudication on Oct. 4 on whether punitive damages could be awarded, but it was denied by Judge Vedica Puri on Jan. 9.
Puri wrote harassment can serve as the predicate as a claim for punitive damages, and a trier of fact could find the treatment of Shaw constituted harassment. The ruling mentions an alleged interaction with John Feeney, the director of Pacific's San Francisco campus.
"When plaintiff complained that it was offensive that co-workers were referring to plaintiff as a man, Director Feeney allegedly stated that plaintiff was 'not exactly the most feminine person around,'" the ruling says.
The trier of fact shall resolve whether the statement ridiculed plaintiff, constitutes harassment given the totality of the circumstances, and whether it exhibited a conscious disregard for plaintiff's rights."
There is a triable issue of fact of whether Feeney contributed to the hostile work environment, the ruling says.
According to the complaint, Shaw began her employment on Oct. 12, 2020, as a married transgender female. Shaw's job title was "Patrol Officer" and upon taking the job, introduced herself as a female. She had secured a name change four years earlier.
Despite this, co-workers and supervisors would refer to Shaw as "dude" and "he/him" and Shaw would correct the co-workers and supervisors to no avail. Shaw met with Sergeant Emilio Fastidio, a “supervisor,” on Oct. 21, 2020, to discuss what was happening.
The discrimination continued, Shaw alleges, only persisting and worsening. On Oct. 29, 2020, Shaw reported to HR the harassment and worsening treatment, and Corporal Quan asked how to refer to her, then replied "I'll just call you Nick," refusing her request to be addressed by female pronouns, the suit says.
From then until Feb. 8, 2021, Shaw was subjected to continued harassment, discrimination and retaliation for multiple reports to HR, the suit says, and was fired on Feb. 8, 2021.
Pacific said it addressed each report of alleged wrongful conduct as they occurred and had one of its officers counsel co-workers on the proper pronouns to be used.
Shaw's successful motion for sanctions against the university in June claimed its discovery requests sought to violate the "privacy in her medical records and her body."
The motion says co-workers asked Shaw whether she was the "top" or "bottom" during sex and made sexual comments about women in the workplace, over her objections.
"Defendant’s position is that by filing her lawsuit, Ms. Shaw opened herself up to all the discovery at issue, because despite being female in the eyes of the law (and this Court), and identifying as a female, discovery about... her genitals, whether she tucks her genitals, medical procedures she had or plans on having, hormone treatments, etc. will somehow help explain Defendant’s employees alleged 'confusion' about Ms. Shaw’s gender," the motion says.
Judge Curtis Karnow assessed $5,100 in sanctions to Pacific, the firm Delfino Madden and attorney Jennifer Randlett Madden.