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617-373-2026 May 15, 2003
MANHATTAN JURY AWARDS $5.27 MILLION TO MODEL AGENCY EMPLOYEE DUE TO HARM FROM SECONDHAND SMOKE.
A nonsmoking employee who complained about her on-the-job exposure to secondhand smoke and then fired after he complaints was awarded $5.27 million by a Manhattan (NY) jury on May 14, 2003. The plaintiff, Victoria Gallegos, 32, said that she was fired just six weeks after beginning her employment with Elite Model Management, a top modeling agency.
Gallegos sued under the city's Human Rights Law, which requires employers to accommodate employees' disabilities. Gallegos suffers from asthma, which makes her sensitive to smoke.
Her lawyer, Rosalind Fink, said that the company's executives discounted Ms. Gallegos' complaints, retaliated against her and then fired her. During the trial, John Casablancas, the head of Elite Model Management, admitted that he did not like Gallegos' complaints but denied that he fired her because of her complaints. He claimed that Gallegos' uncooperative attitude about learning her job responsibilities at the agency was the reason for her dismissal.
Gallegos testified that, after she went to work for Elite, pervasive smoking throughout the agency's offices caused her to suffer "frequent bouts of nausea," left her "coughing up blood," and gave her "difficulties sleeping at night." She eventually developed sinusitis, which she attributes to her exposure to secondhand smoke at Elite.
The jury's award included $2 million for pain and suffering and $2.6 million in punitive damages.
Commentary:
Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project commented that "this verdict is a sharp rebuke to Elite's management who disparaged Ms. Gallegos and the validity of her complaint about exposure to secondhand smoke at work. Workers should never be forced to choose between keeping their job or preserving their health," Sweda concluded.
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