A jury has directed the state to pay $1.9 million to a former Yakima Valley School employee in a whistleblower retaliation suit.
Jurors in the trial in Yakima County Superior Court found Tuesday that Dawn Hyde, a fiscal analyst at the state’s Selah facility for developmentally disabled people, had been subjected to reprimands, reassignments and negative evaluations after her supervisor suspected her of reporting a coworker’s alleged misconduct.
The jury awarded Hyde $101,260 in lost wages, $580,683 in lost pension and $1.24 million for emotional harm.
Jack Sheridan, Hyde’s attorney, said the jury recognized that Hyde endured 93 months of retaliation at work.
“For most of my clients, the big thing is being able to tell your story to someone who is listening,” Sheridan said. “(Hyde) was hoping that someone up the chain of command would do something. She was always an optimist that someone would save her until the jury did.”
Lisa Pemberton, media relations manager for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said the office is reviewing the verdict and discussing with lawyers whether to appeal. She declined to comment further on the matter.
Hyde filed her suit in March 2016, nearly three years before she resigned due to what was described in court papers as “hostility, bullying, retaliation and harassment.”
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