$1.5 MILLION RULING AGAINST CITY NULLIFIED WORKER'S LAWYER SAYS HE'LL GO TO STATE SUPREME COURT.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer BURBANK - A state appeals court has overturned a $1.5 million verdict against the city for discriminating dis·crim·i·nat·ing adj. 1. a. Able to recognize or draw fine distinctions; perceptive. b. Showing careful judgment or fine taste: against a former employee suffering from a stress-related disability. Deborah McMurray, a former administrator in Burbank's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, had won a suit claiming the city failed to accommodate her disability and had passed her over for promotion because of it. The ruling issued Tuesday by the 2nd District Court of Appeal said there was evidence that the city accommodated McMurray's stress-related disability by reducing her workload The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities. An amount of labor While a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands. . It also found she was unqualified for promotion. ``We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal applied the correct legal standard to the trial court's clearly erroneous erroneous adj. 1) in error, wrong. 2) not according to established law, particularly in a legal decision or court ruling. verdict,'' Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow bar·low n. An inexpensive, one- or two-bladed pocketknife. [After Barlow, the family name of its makers, two brothers in Sheffield, England.] said in a statement. ``The city did everything it could to try and help Ms. McMurray and was rewarded with this lawsuit lawsuit: see procedure; tort. , which was extremely destructive within the city family. ``The City Council's tenacity and resolve in this case is a real victory for Burbank taxpayers.'' McMurray's attorney, Brad Gage, said he plans to appeal to the California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Supreme Court. ``It appears to me that the analysis by the Court of Appeals is questionable,'' Gage said. ``We expect that the Supreme Court will consider this case and that we are confident upon review that the verdict will be reinstated.'' In December 2003, a jury awarded McMurray $1.5 million after determining the city had failed to accommodate her depression and other ailments caused by work-related stress. But the jury rejected her claims that she had been passed over for promotion because of her age and gender. Burbank officials said they gave McMurray time off and lessened less·en v. less·ened, less·en·ing, less·ens v.tr. 1. To make less; reduce. 2. Archaic To make little of; belittle. v.intr. To become less; decrease. her workload when doctors told her she was stressed and overworked. Burbank officials also said McMurray was never promoted because she never applied for other positions and because she would not have been qualified for the jobs even if she had. Three other women filed the complaint with McMurray but settled their suits without a trial for ``a nominal sum,'' officials said. McMurray's husband, retired Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . Deputy Chief James McMurray, also filed suit against the city of Burbank, claiming he was defamed when officials accused him of using unmarked police cars to transport his wife and city equipment to photocopy documents related to her case. That suit was ultimately dismissed, officials said. Jason Kandel, (818) 546-3306 jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion