A federal court jury in San Francisco awarded more than $1.2 million in damages Thursday to a former American Airlines flight attendant who said the airline concocted reasons to fire her after she complained about an assault by a passenger.
Airlines fired Greta Anderson in 2005 at least in part because of the company's belief that she was mentally disabled, even though she was able to do the job she had held since 1976. The jury awarded her $238,000 for wage losses and $1 million for emotional distress.
she disobeyed supervisors' orders by repeatedly asking a psychiatrist for a copy of his report that found her unfit for duty. Company lawyers were unavailable for comment late Thursday, but Anderson's attorney,Gregory Redmond, said the airline's position during the trial left little doubt that it would appeal the verdict.
Anderson, 57, lives in Reno and was based in San Jose as a flight attendant. In trial testimony and an interview, she said her problems with the airline started in May 1995 when a passenger frustrated by flight delays kicked her in the back. The passenger turned out to be the wife of a French diplomat, Anderson said, and when she tried to get American Airlines to do something about it, the company turned on her instead.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/18/BA7S11R9JJ.DTL&tsp=1
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