[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/firm-news\/employment-discrimination-case-results-in-significant-jury-award\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/firm-news\/employment-discrimination-case-results-in-significant-jury-award\/","headline":"Employment Discrimination Case Results in Significant Jury Award","name":"Employment Discrimination Case Results in Significant Jury Award","description":"Gross McGinley\u2019s litigation team recently represented Melissa Koch \u201cKoch\u201d in the employment discrimination case of Koch v. […]","datePublished":"2018-01-02","dateModified":"2021-08-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/maddy\/#Person","name":"Madlen Miller","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/maddy\/","identifier":20,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1ee3f237d1fceb743c83e298b53726a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1ee3f237d1fceb743c83e298b53726a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Gross McGinley, LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/employee-discrimination-case.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/employee-discrimination-case.jpg","height":800,"width":800},"url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/firm-news\/employment-discrimination-case-results-in-significant-jury-award\/","about":["Firm News"],"wordCount":395,"keywords":["Employment Law"],"articleBody":"Gross McGinley\u2019s litigation team recently represented Melissa Koch \u201cKoch\u201d in the employment discrimination case of Koch v. Mack Trucks, Inc. After a seven-day jury trial, Attorneys Patrick J. Reilly and Samuel E. Cohen obtained a successful verdict, awarding their client damages of $675,000 and the option to petition the court to pay attorneys\u2019 fees, a significant award amount for this type of case.Koch was an employee at Mack Trucks since 1997, starting in Winnsboro, South Carolina, moving to New River Valley, Virginia, and finally to the plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania in 2010.\u00a0 She was a Production Supervisor, consistently receiving good employment reviews in a male-dominated workplace and was noted as \u201cpromotable\u201d by her supervisor. Nevertheless, she applied for over 60 promotions, never receiving one. There were several instances when Koch was treated differently than her male counterparts and received no assistance when covering for her superior, even though the men she worked with frequently provided assistance to each other. After filing gender and disability discrimination as well as retaliation complaints with her employer, Mack Trucks conducted an investigation after which the investigator concluded that there was no \u201cintentional\u201d discrimination and that there was reason for Koch to be treated differently.Koch called upon Gross McGinley\u2019s employment litigation team to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and her case was ultimately raised to the federal court level before Judge Edward G. Smith, alleging gender and disability discrimination and retaliation for raising her complaints with her employer.Patrick Reilly,\u00a0currently serving\u00a0as Of Counsel to the firm, has extensive experience representing individuals in employment discrimination and disability claims. While still a partner with Gross McGinley, Reilly won a landmark employment discrimination case against a pharmaceutical company, obtaining a $2.5 million dollar award and changing the law regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2013, his client documented her struggles and Reilly\u2019s case in Call to Witness by Sherry Blackman.Sam Cohen\u00a0is a Partner in Gross McGinley\u2019s Litigation Group, regularly counseling individuals, small businesses, and large corporations on transactions, employment matters, product warranties, and zoning disputes. He has successfully litigated claims founded in breach of contract, employment discrimination, and premise liability defense, to name a few.Pat and Sam were assisted by other members of the litigation team including Adrian Cousens, Michael Blum, Zachary Fowler, Ryan Stauffer, Kristin Cressman, Pa.C.P., and Sally Molina."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Firm News","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/\/firm-news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Employment Discrimination Case Results in Significant Jury Award","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/firm-news\/employment-discrimination-case-results-in-significant-jury-award\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]