In 2007, Joyce Quinlan, executive director for human resources at Curtiss-Wright in Parsippany, N.J., won a $10.6 million sex discrimination judgment when she proved that she was bypassed for promotion to vice president in favor of a male employee hired many years after her. At trial she introduced "smoking gun evidence" including 1,800 pages of personnel files, salary records, and performance evaluations - of other employees. The Appellate Division vacated the award, finding that she had violated her duty of trust owed to her employer when she copied and removed company-confidential information. Today, the Supreme Court of New Jersey decided Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., which reinstates the jury award and holds that, on balance, Quinlan could remove and use company - confidential information obtained in her capacity as HR Director to sue her former employer for gender discrimination.
To read the Court's opinion go to EANJ In the Courts here.
John Sarno will discuss this case in detail in EANJ's Case Law Summary this month, which will be posted online at or about December 13, 2010.