Jury Awards $5.2 Million in Disability Case

A jury awarded $5.2 million to a plaintiff whose former employer, a modeling agency, failed to accommodate her asthma, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and terminated her in retaliation for making complaints about smoking in the workplace. Gallegos v. Elite Model Mgmt. Corp., No. 120577/00 (N.Y. Co. Sup. Ct. 5/14/03)

In an interview before she was hired, the plaintiff told the employer that she was asthmatic and asked the employer to curb the pervasive smoking in the workplace that she had observed and which she believed was prohibited by law. The employer assured her that it would, but failed to do so.

The employee suffered several asthmatic attacks after commencing employment, which she and her physician attributed to the smoking in her workplace. She made numerous complaints but her employer failed to act on those complaints or on her requests to curtail smoking or relocate her to a smoke-free area. Instead, the agency allegedly told her that smoking was inextricably linked to the modeling industry. The agency also demoted her to a position that was located in an area even more permeated with smoke.

The agency terminated the employee after only 7 weeks of employment on the Monday after she faxed her superiors a letter requesting time to consult with an attorney. The employer's termination letter cited her health problems and previously undocumented poor interpersonal skills as its reasons for terminating her.

The jury found that the employer violated the State and City Human Rights Laws, and returned a verdict in favor of the employee for $297,814.00 in back pay, $375,776.00 in future lost earnings, $2 million for physical and emotional pain and suffering, and $2.6 million in punitive damages, which was more than was sought by plaintiff's attorneys. 

A jury awarded $5.2 million to a plaintiff whose former employer, a modeling agency, failed to accommodate her asthma, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and terminated her in retaliation for making complaints about smoking in the workplace. Gallegos v. Elite Model Mgmt. Corp., No. 120577/00 (N.Y. Co. Sup. Ct. 5/14/03)

In an interview before she was hired, the plaintiff told the employer that she was asthmatic and asked the employer to curb the pervasive smoking in the workplace that she had observed and which she believed was prohibited by law. The employer assured her that it would, but failed to do so.

The employee suffered several asthmatic attacks after commencing employment, which she and her physician attributed to the smoking in her workplace. She made numerous complaints but her employer failed to act on those complaints or on her requests to curtail smoking or relocate her to a smoke-free area. Instead, the agency allegedly told her that smoking was inextricably linked to the modeling industry. The agency also demoted her to a position that was located in an area even more permeated with smoke.

The agency terminated the employee after only 7 weeks of employment on the Monday after she faxed her superiors a letter requesting time to consult with an attorney. The employer's termination letter cited her health problems and previously undocumented poor interpersonal skills as its reasons for terminating her.

The jury found that the employer violated the State and City Human Rights Laws, and returned a verdict in favor of the employee for $297,814.00 in back pay, $375,776.00 in future lost earnings, $2 million for physical and emotional pain and suffering, and $2.6 million in punitive damages, which was more than was sought by plaintiff's attorneys.