The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a jury award of almost $180,000 to a plaintiff who worked as a controller and was the only woman among the employer's executive staff.

At the time she was hired, the employee informed the company that she had a serious medical condition that required ongoing treatment that resulted in several days of absence from work every few months. When she required treatment, the employee gave the same kind of leave notice of that all employees gave by filling out and signing a leave request form for leave or calling in and reporting her need for leave. On one occasion, the employee's treatment was more involved and required her to work a reduced schedule for a period and then miss additional days of work. She followed the absence notice procedures she previously used to report her need for leave on this occasion. When she returned to work, she was confronted by the company president, who was irate that she failed to call his cell phone to report her absences. He told her to "sit down little girl" and then to "get out." She understood this to mean that she was fired and went home. When she returned to gather her possessions the next day, the employee was denied access to the building. She met with the president several days later, and he told her that he believed she was unable to perform her duties due to her "health issues and personal issues" and offered her an alternate position with reduced pay and hours. She declined and filed suit. In concluding that the jury verdict was proper, the Eighth Circuit noted that the company failed to present a legitimate business reason for termination where the only basis offered was that she failed to conform to the president's "cell phone policy" and evidence showed that other executive employees never heard of this policy. Read more.