Facts

Jenny Zhao, Shillane Chen, and Phoenix Wu El Khoury, plaintiffs, worked with the county of Los Angeles, defendant. According to Zhao, her co-worker, Shaoli Xu, called her a middle-aged woman, and said that a male engineer was more valuable because Chinese men and women were different. When Zhao told Steve Hennessee, defendant, about her concerns, he minimized her concerns.

Chen stated that after being considered a witness in Zhao's case, Hennessee made her working conditions difficult and yelled at her when she refused to make changes to a budget which he had given to her, and which was subject to strict deadlines.

According to Khoury, her promotability score was reduced after she became pregnant, and after she participated in the Zhao investigation.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Zhao claimed that Xu interfered with her work product, and she claimed sexual harassment against the county of Los Angeles and Xu. Chen alleged retaliation against Hennessee and the county of Los Angeles. Khoury claimed pregnancy discrimination and unlawful retaliation against defendants.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants argued that Zhao complained about Xu's alleged comments, because Xu was promoted, instead of Zhao. With respect to Zhao, defendants further argued that the conduct alleged did not constitute sexual harassment as it was not severe or pervasive. With respect to plaintiff Khoury, defendants argued that she was not subjected to pregnancy discrimination or retaliation and that her decline in performance was the reason for her decline in scores. With respect to Chen, defendants argued that the conduct did not constitute harassment or retaliation as it was not severe or pervasive.

Result

A verdict of $54,000 was reached in favor of Chen. Chen received $6,000 for past economic loss, $10,000 for future economic loss, $18,000 for past non-economic loss, and $20,000 for future non-economic loss against the county of Los Angeles and Hennessee. A jury found in favor of defendants on Zhao's claim of sexual harassment and Khoury's claims of pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.