Silicon Valley: An India-born engineer, who was fired by her company after she complained of her senior’s racist conduct, has been awarded $5.5 million by a San Francisco federal jury.

The jury found Kiran Pande’s former employer Chevron liable for wrongful termination and retaliation and ruled that she be given roughly $3million for past and future economic losses, and $2.5 million in damages.

Pande, who holds a PhD in petroleum engineering from Stanford University, was fired by Chevron in late 2003 after 15 years with the company.

After a three-week trial, the jury found that Chevron had retaliated against Pande after she complained about discrimination and fired her for reasons that violated a public policy.

Chevron first hired Pande as a research engineer in 1988. But in 2001, Pande was made the target of racist remarks and discrimination by her senior Rex Mitchell, who is now the chief compliance officer, according to her complaint, filed in a California district court.

In March 2002, Pande complained to Mitchell’s supervisor, James Johnson. Pande says Johnson didn’t investigate, and she was given the choice of leaving the company or staying for up to 18 months and getting along with Mitchell.

Later she filed a formal complaint against Mitchell with a company ombudsman. Over the next several months Pande claimed she faced retaliatory action, including being excluded from work-related meetings.

In the spring of 2003 she elected not to move with her business unit as it was relocating to Houston.

She was not given a merit pay increase for the first time in all her years there and it was attributed to Mitchell’s evaluation of her work.

In late 2003,while she was on medical leave, she was notified that the company was moving to terminate her employment, effective December 31, 2003. In December 2003, Pande filed a complaint of discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment In a statement, the company said it was disappointed with the verdict and was focusing on post trial motions and a possible appeal.

Source : PTI