San Francisco Settles Gender Discrimination Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SAN FRANCISCO PAYS $175,000.00 IN DISCRIMINATION CASE.

(San Francisco, July 22, 2004)
On July 20, 2004, the City of San Francisco settled a lawsuit for employment gender discrimination/retaliation by paying $175,000.00 to Joyce Vanman, a woman carpenter, and her attorney Julian Lastowski. Vanman's suit claimed that in early 1996, despite years of exemplary performance, she was subjected to sexually offensive remarks and hostile acts by the then male "lead carpenter" at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital.

Although she reported the remarks and actions to her supervisors and to the personnel office, Laguna Honda management and San Francisco's Equal Opportunity Commission did not adequately investigate or take action. After almost 2 years of harassment (and inaction by management), Vanman brought her complaints to San Francisco's Civil Service Commission, resulting in the transfer of the harrasser. But it also led to direct retaliation in threats to her by managers. Also in retaliation, Vanman was denied promotion to "lead carpenter." The position went to a male provisional carpenter. She grieved that denial of promotion through arbitration. The director of plant services and her supervisor were found, by the arbitrator, to have engaged in active discrimination and retaliation against her--ruling in Vanman's favor. Yet, when she was made lead carpenter, she was denied the perquisites of the position.

In late 1999, Vanman had hoped that the situation would have improved. But preferential treatment of the replacement male carpenter, and taking away from Vanman the functions of lead, meant that management would neither change nor intervene in the ongoing discrimination and retaliation. She filed complaints with the DFEH and the lawsuit in October 2000.
After reversal of San Francisco's motion for summary judgment, the case was settled at mediation with Honorable Rebecca Westerfield, Judge, ret. Of course, San Francisco admitted no wrongdoing in reaching the settlement.