On December 20, 2019, a U.S. District Court of Colorado jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, a former anesthesiologist at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus (“CU”), who was represented by Charlotte Sweeney, Madeline Collison, and Ariel DeFazio of Sweeney & Bechtold, LLC. The jury found that CU unlawfully retaliated against the plaintiff in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”).

In response to the plaintiff’s multiple complaints of national origin discrimination, CU failed to investigate or address the plaintiff’s complaints and instead, began a campaign of retaliation that ultimately resulted in his unlawful termination. At the close of his four-day trial, the jury awarded the plaintiff significant economic damages for his lost pay and compensatory damages for embarrassment and reputational harm.

Under Title VII, covered employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against their employees who engage in protected activity. Protected activity includes both informal and formal complaints of discrimination, and the retaliation protections of Title VII are triggered once the employer is made aware of such complaints.