In Chadwick v. Wellpoint, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, No. 08-l685 (2009), a Maine insurance employee requested a promotion, but the higher-level job was given to someone else. The suit points out several remarks made by the decision makers about her family responsibilities.
The woman, an employee of Wellpoint (a health insurance provider) became an employee 1997 and was promoted to “recovery specialist II” two years later. Her job responsibilitiesincluded pursuing third-party reimbursement and overpayment claims.
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In 2006, the position of “recovery specialist lead” became open, and the employee believed she was the best qualified employee for it, having previously done many of the job duties. She also received 4.40 out of 5.00 in her most recent performance evaluation.
A team of three supervisors interviewed the woman and one other candidate for the job. All three were aware the woman was the mother of an 11-year-old child and 6-year-old triplets. And, during and after the interviews, all three commented about her children.
Supervisors gave the job to the other woman, who had less experience and a lower score on her most recent evaluation. The first woman sued, asserting they had violated federal and state civil rights laws by assuming her family would distract her from work.
A federal district court judge dismissed her case, saying she couldn’t prove the remarks were direct evidence of bias. She appealed to the 1st Circuit, which covers Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Appellate judges did not agree with the district judge.
They said in their opinion the decision makers stereotyped the more experienced employee, particularly on the basis of the triplets. Wellpoint argued the other candidate was also a mother with a 9-year-old and a 14-year-old.
The primary decision maker testified she found the other candidate’s interview more professional and compelling than the more experienced employee. But the more experienced woman testified the decision maker told her the other woman was promoted because “you’re going to school, you have the kids, and you just have too much on your plate right now.”
That sounded like bias to the judges, and they sent her case to a jury.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
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Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers’ comp issues.
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