The County of Sacramento recently abandoned its appeal of the jury verdict award from last May 2016 to four Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department officers represented by Minami Tamaki LLP and The Law Offices of Jerry L. Chong and Alice W. Wong. The County’s abandonment of the appeal brings a conclusion to this hard-fought lawsuit filed over six years ago.

Plaintiffs were four female law enforcement officers who complained about race and gender discrimination and sexual favoritism in the Sheriff’s Department. After their complaints, the Department retaliated against the female officers and derailed their careers. They were removed from their job positions, unfairly disciplined, subjected to punitive investigations, and passed over for promotions and specialty assignments.

The case was jointly litigated by both firms for over six years, culminating in a five-week trial in Sacramento Superior Court. At trial, these four women told their stories of how they were targeted and suffered retaliation after their complaints. The jury also heard testimony from former and current top brass in the Department. Ultimately, a jury awarded the Plaintiffs a collective total of over $3.5 million in economic and non-economic damages. The County appealed the verdict to the Third District Court of Appeals, but recently abandoned its appeal.

“In bringing this case, our clients wanted to open up a dialogue and advocate for a better, more fair place to work not just for themselves, but for all officers in the department,” said Lisa Mak of Minami Tamaki LLP. “We hope cases like this encourage all employees to speak up against injustice.”

The Consumer and Employee Rights Group at Minami Tamaki LLP is committed to advocating on behalf of all employees for a fair workplace. Our group has extensive experience litigating against public and private employers in areas such as discrimination, retaliation, harassment, family and medical leave, and wage and hour violations.