Employment Law Facts

When Rosario Juarez told her AutoZone district manager she was pregnant, he replied "Congratulations... I guess" - then added "I feel sorry for you." She was demoted, then fired. The jury felt differently: $185 million in punitive damages.

After 31 years at Liberty Mutual, senior case manager Joy Slagel was fired the day she returned from medical leave - over a paperwork mix-up on a Disney social media investigation. A Los Angeles jury awarded her $103 million in December 2025, the largest age discrimination verdict in US history. The jury found Liberty Mutual had acted with "malice or oppression."

Nancy Valla, Dignity Health's Chief Nursing Officer, reported expired anesthesia machines, outdated defibrillators, and unsterilized surgical instruments at her hospital. Her reward: being replaced while on medical leave. A California jury awarded her $27.5 million.