Celia G. Zimmerman filed a pregnancy discrimination complaint against her employer, Direct Federal Credit Union in Massachusetts, and its CEO, David Breslin. After she notified Breslin that she intended to pursue the claim in court, Zimmerman said her employer took retaliatory action. She said Breslin publicly made disparaging remarks about her, ignored her attempts to participate in meetings, biased member of the credit union's board against her, and intimidated employees who sided with her.
Zimmerman lost the case against her employer for discrimination but won on her claim of retaliation. The judge said, "Such actions quite simply cannot be viewed as falling either within the legitimate scope of a corporate officer's employment or within the corporation's legitimate interests."
SOURCE: "Verdict for Workplace Bullying is Upheld" by Wendy L Pfaffenbach, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (November 27, 2000).