On April 29, 2003, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (the CHRO) issued the largest damage award in its history to a client of Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky LLP. The case of Slootskin v. John Brown Engineers and Construction, Inc. began in 1992, when John Brown, an international construction and engineering firm, laid off Inessa Slootskin, who is an engineer with expertise in HVAC systems. Partner David Cohen felt that the employer was guilty of age discrimination in terminating Mrs. Slootskin, then 54 years of age, instead of younger and less qualified engineers who remained in her department. He initially attempted to have the employer simply reinstate Mrs. Slootskin without any award of damages, but the company adamantly refused. Its attorney informed David that John Brown had never lost an employment case and would not consider rehiring Mrs. Slootskin, despite evidence that age was a critical factor in the termination.
A complaint was filed with the CHRO in late 1992. After the Commission completed its investigation, a lengthy period elapsed. Then a contested hearing before a CHRO hearing officer consumed 10 days spread out over a period of years. David Cohen and Steve Frederick, another partner of the firm, had responsibility for representing Mrs. Slootskin at the hearings and subsequent briefing. In a 1999 decision, the hearing officer ruled that Inessa Slootskin was the victim of intentional and unlawful age discrimination by John Brown and awarded damages of $115,775. Mrs. Slootskin was unemployed for years following her termination, and even after she found work in a related field through a senior citizen employment program, she was never able to earn a salary comparable to the one at John Brown. In presenting the case on Mrs. Slootskin's behalf, our firm joined forces with staff counsel for the CHRO, who agreed that the case had merit. The CHRO hearing officer, however, limited the damages to the period prior to March, 1994 on the theory that Mrs. Slootskin would have been laid off anyway by that time, even without job discrimination. The problem with that theory is that there was no evidence to support it, and our firm filed an appeal from that ruling with the Connecticut Superior Court. David Cohen and associate Alex Sherman handled the appeal and the subsequent proceedings. The Superior Court, over vigorous objection by John Brown, agreed that there was no evidence to support the limitation on Mrs. Slootskin's damages, and it ordered a new hearing to assess full damages to remedy the discrimination. John Brown continued to fight its responsibility for any further damages, and it pursued an appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court. After briefing and oral argument, the Appellate Court issued a decision affirming that Mrs. Slootskin's right to adequate damages had been infringed by the original CHRO decision, and the case had to be remanded to the CHRO for an additional hearing on the damages award.
In March 2003, nearly 11 years after she was unlawfully fired, Inessa Slootksin appeared at a new agency hearing to press her claim for full damages. Once again, John Brown, through its counsel, insisted that full compensation had already been awarded, and Mrs. Slootskin was not entitled to another penny. After the hearing and a further round of briefing, the new CHRO human rights referee rendered a decision in April 2003 awarding an additional $453,025 to Mrs. Slootskin, so that the total damages awarded to her in the case amounted to more than $568,000, the largest amount awarded as of that time by the CHRO to a victim of employment discrimination. Mrs. Slootskin, now an employee of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and 64 years of age, is contemplating the possibility of retirement later this year. She immigrated to the United States as a refugee from the former Soviet Union many years ago with a steadfast conviction that America is a land of opportunity for those willing to work hard and that the American legal system can by relied upon by ordinary citizens seeking justice. Although her case lasted far longer than anyone might have dreamed when she came to Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky LLP years ago, our firm considers it a privilege to have assisted in demonstrating that her reliance on our system of justice was well founded.
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