A federal jury Thursday found that Goldman, Sachs & Co. discriminated against a female executive by blocking her promotion and then dismissing her after she fired a male subordinate.
The civil suit brought against the firm by Joanne Flynn, 39, was unusual because another woman was hired to fill the job Flynn had expected to get.
Flynn alleged that she was fired because she offended Goldman, Sachs partners by firing a man. The firm said the case was not about discrimination, but about a clash between Flynn and her female boss.
The securities firm’s lawyers immediately asked U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood to throw out the verdict, and the judge was considering the matter.
“We are very disappointed that the jury has chosen to view as discrimination what was nothing more than the story of an employee who lost her job through her own conduct,” Goldman, Sachs said in a statement. “Joanne Flynn was unable to get along with the woman who achieved a position Flynn wanted, and who became Flynn’s boss,” the firm said.
The jury, five women and four men, deliberated for three days before finding in Flynn’s favor. They agreed with her that she had suffered from sexual discrimination in being turned down for promotions, in being fired from her $180,000-a-year job and in getting a severance package smaller than some male employees received. Flynn is seeking more than $1 million in damages, and the Manhattan jury is to reconvene next week to determine Goldman’s liabilities.
The plaintiff is now an independent consultant on training and management development for Wall Street firms.
Flynn, who was fired in 1989, said she faced discrimination even though she had received unqualified praise from her superiors.
She said her boss told her in June, 1988, that he thought she would get a new position as manager of training and development.
The firm’s attitude toward her changed, however, after she fired a man in her department, she said, and Doris Smith, an executive at First Boston Corp., was hired as the new manager.
Flynn alleged that Goldman failed to provide her with equal pay, blocked opportunities for advancement and then dismissed her because she was a woman.
She said the subordinate she fired ended up getting a far more attractive severance package than she did. She received $34,000 after a nine-year career at the firm. The man received $37,000 after only 10 months there, she said.
If Wood lets the verdict stand, a second trial phase will weigh testimony on damages.