A New Jersey operator is challenging a jury verdict that awarded $6 million to a former administrator in a racial discrimination lawsuit.
A Bergen County jury handed down determinations earlier this month against CareOne, a New Jersey-based post-acute nursing and assisted living provider. The jury awarded $4.1 million in punitive damages and about $1.8 million in compensatory damages to former executive Rebecca McCarthy, the New Jersey Law Journal reported.
CareOne said that although it respects the jury’s verdict, it believes its decision “was just plain wrong.” The operator has filed a motion seeking to dismiss the verdict, NJ.com reported. A ruling on the motion is expected to be issued later this month.
“CareOne is an organization that has a well-known track record for encouraging and celebrating diversity at all levels of the organization. This is obviously only the first stage of a multi-stage legal process and we are confident that the facts in this case will serve as vindication as we pursue all avenues of review and appeal,” the provider said in a statement to McKnight’s.
McCarthy, who is black, accused the provider of firing her as vice president of clinical leadership at one of the company’s facilities.
She also alleged another executive, Alison Fitzpatrick-Durski, commented that she didn’t want “a black person walking around her in a suit as a VP” and instead wanted her “in scrubs, flats and a lab coat,” the report stated. McCarthy was reportedly fired one day after the comment was made.
CareOne argued during the trial that McCarthy was fired for poor job performance. It also denied that Fitzpatrick-Durski’s comments referenced race and said the comment was meant to encourage her to change into scrubs and help nursing staff when needed, the report stated.
