Zurich ordered to pay $80 million in suit over employee incentives

Three former managers in a workers compensation department in Zurich North America’s Rancho Cordova, California, branch have been awarded a total of $80,252,412 in compensatory and punitive damages by a jury that found the company had wrongfully terminated them for taking unofficial paid time off, according to the firm that represented them.

According to a statement issued Thursday by The Bohm Law Group Inc., which represented Melinda Brantley, Nicholas Lardie and Daniel Koos, who were fired over accusations they stole from their employers for taking “off the record” paid time off that was not entered into the company’s official system for tracking such days, which the plaintiffs argued in separate lawsuits had been given to them as incentives by a supervisor who was rewarding their “hard work and dedication.”

The verdicts were filed Thursday in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.

A Zurich spokeswoman wrote that the company is “disappointed” in the outcomes over litigation stemming from the 2017 terminations and that it is “committed to maintaining a culture of fairness, equity and integrity in all our business practices and interactions with employees. We will pursue all available legal options, including appeal.”