An Atlanta jury has awarded $500,000 to a female employee of a warehouse and distribution company who failed to get promoted, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

The EEOC said Westerville, Ohio-based Exel Inc., a unit of Bonn, Germany-based Deutsche Post A.G., violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to promote Contrice Travis to an inventory supervisor position in 2008.

Exel said it plans to challenge the jury verdict.

The EEOC said it presented evidence at the four-day trial that male employees were routinely promoted after verbally requesting consideration for open positions while Ms. Travis, who was “indisputably recognized” as the most knowledgeable in inventory control, was denied the inventory supervisor position vacated by her supervisor.

Ms. Travis' former supervisor testified that when he recommended her for the position, the general manager informed him he would never put a woman in that post.

The jury also heard evidence that while Ms. Travis was told the inventory supervisor position would not be filled, Michel Pooler was told by a management and human resources officer that the position would be filled, but he would be selected only if he kept it a secret. Mr. Pooler testified Ms. Travis trained him because he had no inventory experience.

The $500,000 jury award included $25,000 in compensatory and $475,000 in punitive damages. The court will also award back pay to Ms. Travis, the EEOC said in a statement.

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The EEOC's lead attorney at trial, Steven Wagner, said in a statement, “The people who were supposed to protect Travis' rights failed her. The company's human resources department took the side of the wrongdoer over the victim by telling Travis to transfer rather than investigate her complaints of sex discrimination."

“Exel is disappointed that several facts related to the situation were overlooked by the jury,” the company said in a statement. “This includes the fact that the plaintiff never completed an application for the supervisor position for which the EEOC suit alleges she was denied a promotion; and that the criteria for the position included experience beyond that of the plaintiff.”

In saying the damages recommended by the jury exceed the maximum allowed under the law, Excel said it “intends to vigorously challenge the jury's verdict, and remains committed to ensuring a diverse workforce and equal opportunity workplace.”