Mission Support Alliance (MSA), the support services contractor for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, is asking for a new trial in Benton County, Wash., Superior Court after a jury in October awarded $8.1 million in damages for retaliation and discrimination against a former manager. If Judge Doug Federspiel does not agree to a new trial, MSA is asking that he reduce the damages awarded.
The verdict includes $6 million for emotional harm to plaintiff Julie Atwood, who said she was forced from her job as an MSA manager after she told investigators they should be looking into her supervisor, Steve Young, who is also the mayor of the nearby city of Kennewick. Young was conducting city business while at work at Hanford, she said.
The 2013 investigation, which was focused on Atwood, exonerated her of an accusation of time-card fraud, but MSA management told her she was being fired anyway, according to court documents. She resigned in an attempt to save her reputation and pension.
The $6 million award was excessive for the events of a single day — the day Atwood resigned, the defense argued in a recent hearing before Federspiel, a Yakima County judge who is hearing the case in Benton County. Atwood’s attorney argued during the trial that she had developed an ongoing mental illness, with symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
The defense also is asking for a reduction in the $2.1 million awarded to Atwood for lost past and future wages. Atwood, who is 62, would have to work until she is at least 75 to earn that much money, the defense argues. The defense counters that she has not been diligent about looking for a job. Atwood’s attorney says she needed time to regain her mental health and that her reputation at Hanford has been ruined by MSA, making finding a comparable job difficult.
The defense also is arguing that a new trial is justified because one of the jurors recognized a plaintiff witness during the trial. The juror had been given witnesses’ names before he was selected, but only recognized a Department of Energy employee as his neighbor when the witness testified about Atwood’s last day at MSA.
