Roby

Certified for Partial Publication. [*]

Plaintiff Charlene J. Roby was a stellar employee of defendant McKesson HBOC, Inc. (McKesson) [1] for 25 years until she developed panic disorder in 1998, which caused her to start missing substantial time from work. Two years later, McKesson fired Roby for abusing its attendance policy, although many of her absences were attributable to her psychiatric disability.

The jury "threw the book" at McKesson. It awarded Roby millions of dollars in compensatory damages for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, as well as harassment, disparate treatment, and discrimination/failure to accommodate under the California Fair Employment and

Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov.Code, § 12900 et seq.). [2] The jury rendered a separate verdict finding Roby's supervisor, Karen Schoener, liable for harassment. In a second phase of the trial, the jury levied a $15 million punitive damage award against McKesson and $3,000 against Schoener.

McKesson does not challenge the verdict insofar as the jury found it liable for wrongful termination, disability discrimination, and disparate treatment. McKesson and Schoener do challenge the harassment verdict…