Close to $186 million has been awarded to Rosario Juarez of San Diego after a federal jury determined that she had been unlawfully fired due to her gender. The jury, comprised of five men and two women, awarded the former Auto Zone employee $185 million in punitive damages and almost another million in compensatory damages.
Ms. Juarez became employed by the company in 2000 and received a promotion the following April to parts sales manager. Three and a half years later, she obtained a position as store manager. Just under a year after that, she became pregnant with her first child. Although the person above her said he felt for her situation, he began to verbally abuse her.
She and her team continued to meet and exceed their goals, providing no basis for the recommendation by the district manager that she give up her position as store manager because she could not handle it. She was demoted and took a cut in pay after her son was born. Although she attempted to regain her former position, she was repeatedly denied and eventually fired in 2008.
That is when she took her situation to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The former district manager gave testimony, stating that he was encouraged to keep women out of managerial positions. There have been other reports of this type of behavior from the company. However, a spokesperson for Auto Zone says they will challenge the awarded amount.