Livermore lab jury awards $2.7 million

An Alameda County jury's award of more than $2.7 million to five laid-off employees at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was just the first stage of a wrongful-termination case that could become much more expensive for the nuclear lab.

Jurors on Friday awarded the five longtime workers reimbursement for their lost wages after finding that the lab had violated a contractual promise to terminate them only for "reasonable cause." Individual damages ranged from $242,000 to $853,000.

A new jury will now consider their claims of age discrimination, which could bring additional damages for emotional distress and punitive damages. And in a case that is being handled in phases, another 125 laid-off employees are awaiting their own trials on similar claims.

Gary Gwilliam, a lawyer for the employees, said Monday the verdict should encourage the lab's operators, the public-private partnership of the University of California and Bechtel Corp., to settle the remaining claims. Otherwise, he said, "we're ready and willing to try this case again" for the 125 co-plaintiffs.

Laboratory management issued a statement saying it "respectfully disagrees with the jury's conclusions" and is considering its options.

The 130 plaintiffs were among more than 440 employees the lab dismissed in 2008, citing a reduction in federal funding. Gwilliam said they were the first layoffs at Lawrence Livermore in nearly 40 years and came soon after Bechtel signed on as the lab's first private contractor.

The plaintiffs averaged 54 years of age and 20 years of experience, their lawyers said. They argued that the lab had disregarded its own rules that were supposed to protect senior employees.

In one case, Gwilliam said, the lab laid off a worker with 38 years of experience while keeping a co-worker who had been on the job for 15 months.

Lawyers for the lab contended that managers had followed Department of Energy personnel standards and had not targeted higher-paid senior employees for layoffs.

"The laboratory believes it acted in good faith," spokeswoman Lynda Seaver said Monday.