SACRAMENTO – On Sept. 18, demoted Farmers Insurance employee Lisa Black of Lincoln filed a lawsuit alleging workplace discrimination.
Black claims that she was unfairly demoted and blocked from promotions because of her gender. She’s seeking damages from defendants Farmers Insurance, Farmers Insurance Exchange and Farmers Group Inc. to cover lost wages, attorney’s fees and emotional duress.
According to the suit, Black has been an employee with Farmers for 16 years. According to her complaint, she’s done her duties well. However, in 2012 the defendant allegedly instituted a new policy requiring adjusters to complete a three-phase training program. Black alleges that male employees were given preferential treatment.
The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
The suit states Black passed the first part of the training program but failed the second part twice. She was subsequently demoted. She eventually worked her way back to the level just below her old position.
The complaint notes that “unbeknownst to plaintiff Black at that time, a ‘glass ceiling’ was in place preventing plaintiff as a woman, from remaining a special claims adjuster level 36 position. Instead, Farmers was fraudulently providing passing marks to males while informing females they had failed the testing.”
Black alleges that the training program was used as a method of discrimination. The program “was used as a method to illegally justify demotions, pay reductions, and eventually constructive or actual terminations of female employees because of their gender,” the suit states.
Black supports her allegations by arguing that male employees were treated more leniently. According to her, they were given more time to complete the training and their results were judged less harshly. Men who failed as Black did, she alleges, were allowed to continue in their position.
The complaint specifically notes that “male employees were granted additional time to take and complete the tests, whereas female employees, including plaintiff, were denied this accommodation. Additional criteria, such as consideration of prior performance was allowed to help prevent male employees from being demoted or terminated following their failures...”
Black learned about the alleged double standard while participating in a separate lawsuit involving Farmers.
Black is seeking a jury trial.