Deaf Walmart supervisor awarded $27,000 in harassment case
WILMINGTON, DE, Oct. 8, 2004 --Lily Spencer began working for WalMart in 1999, stocking shelves, then moved to the accounting department. Hearing impaired, she endured taunts of co-workers, creating, she said, a hostile environment. She filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled that there was evidence of discrimination. On Thursday, a federal jury in Wilmington, DC, awarded Spencer $27,000, saying that the company was responsible for a "hostile work environment." However, the jury refused to awared Spencer punitive damages.