Hawaii woman wins record sexual harassment verdict
KITV/Honolulu Channel reports:
An Oahu jury on Friday awarded more than $1 million to a Hawaii woman in what is being called the state's largest verdict awarded to an individual for a sexual harassment case.The jury decided to make HIS Hawaii, a travel company employing about 80 people in the islands, to pay.
Attorneys for Rieko Aoki said the former customer service agent was fired after she spoke up against being sexually harassed by the manager and other co-workers.
“There were repeated occasions where the manager of the department and others attempted to remove Ms. Aoki's bra during work hours. In addition, malicious rumors were spread about Ms. Aoki in the work place. There were other occasions where she was lifted up to expose her undergarments under her skirt," attorney Larry Remillard said.
Remillard said the verdict is in part so large because HIS Hawaii rejected Aoki's claims of sexual harassment and instead promoted the harasser.
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