THE INDIANA LAWYER
JOHNSON CASE
Type of Action:
Employment / Race Discrimination and Retaliation
Name of Case:
Dyrica Johnson v. John H. Dalton, Secretary of the Navy.
Type of Injuries:
Lost wages from denial of promotion, emotional distress.
Date of Settlement:
July 8, 1997.
Court/Case #:
U. S. District Court, S. D. Ind.; Case No. IP
96-0352-C-T/G.
Judge or Jury Trial:
Jury trial requested.
Name of Judge:
United States District Judge John Daniel Tinder and Chief
United States Magistrate Judge John Paul Godich.
Settlement Amount:
A permanent job promotion, plus $22,500 for
compensatory damages, plus $27,400 for attorney fees and costs.
Attorney for Plaintiff:
Richard L. Darst, Indianapolis.
Attorney for Defendant:
Available upon request.
Insurance Carrier:
None.
Case Information:
The employer allowed white employees to learn
duties for promotion by means of accretion of duties, details, and reassignments, but the
employer did not give the African-American plaintiff the same opportunities. As a result,
the employer promoted white employees ahead of the plaintiff.
In 1992, the employer promoted a white employee who had been allowed
to perform the job temporarily, and the job vacancy was not posted. Plaintiff complained
about the race discrimination, and the employer retaliated against plaintiff.
Plaintiff moved to another work area and to a supervisor other than
the one against whom she had complained, in order to try a fresh start. The supervisor
against whom plaintiff complained made it known to plaintiff's new supervisor that
plaintiff had filed a complaint of discrimination and showed a part of the discrimination
complaint to plaintiff's new supervisor. Plaintiff's new supervisor told plaintiff's
co-workers that they could be promoted if they stopped associating with plaintiff and
other black employees. Plaintiff later received training for a promotion, but the
defendant denied plaintiff the permanent promotion.
Plaintiff complained to the Navy "hot-line" in addition to
her EEO discrimination complaint, but she received no relief from the "hot-line"
for more than a year. The Navy refused to disclose the investigation of plaintiff's
"hot-line" complaint. The Navy settled at an early stage of the case, instead of
disclosing the investigation of plaintiff's complaint.
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