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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says it plans to appeal an $11.5million damages judgment, in a case brought by a former employee who accused the group of discrimination and retaliation.
A Colorado jury delivered the verdict, allocating $1.5million in compensatory damages and $10million in punitive damages to former instructional designer Rehab Mohamed.
Her attorney, Ariel DeFazio, said the panel listened “very closely to the evidence” and chose to “hold SHRM accountable.” She added that the outcome would “send a message to workplaces in the entire country,” according to Business Insider.
Jury weighs allegations of racial bias and retaliation
Mohamed worked for SHRM between 2016 and 2020 and brought her lawsuit in 2022. She alleged that a white supervisor engaged in racial discrimination and that the organization retaliated after she reported concerns. It is reported that she raised the issues repeatedly during the summer of 2020, including directly to CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. and the head of HR.
Employment attorney Alice K. Jump, a partner at Reavis Page Jump, said the case carried reputational significance for an organization that promotes best practices to HR professionals. “The optics are bad because they’ve held themselves out as an authority on best practices,” she said.
Taylor testified that he had no involvement in Mohamed’s termination. A former SHRM employee, Mike Jackson, told the court that he (Jackson) oversaw the complaint and described it as the only discrimination investigation he handled during his tenure.
The court dismissed SHRM’s attempt to prevent Mohamed from referencing SHRM’s expertise in HR procedures. Judge Gordon P. Gallagher ruled that the organization’s position as a workplace authority was “integral to the circumstances of this case.”
Pre-trial discovery disclosed two other discrimination matters involving SHRM staff, one settled in 2018 and another still pending from 2021. SHRM has denied wrongdoing in both.
SHRM plans appeal as criticism mounts
SHRM has consistently rejected Mohamed’s allegations and now intends to appeal the ruling.
The group said the verdict “does not reflect the facts, the law, or the truth of how SHRM operates,” adding that it had acted with “integrity, transparency, and in full alignment with our values and obligations.”
In a video message to employees, Taylor said the ruling lacked merit and would be “just a blip in the history of SHRM.”
A LinkedIn post announcing the planned appeal “to the highest courts in the land” generated more than 100 comments, many critical of the organization.
"An $11.5million verdict doesn't happen in a vacuum; it reflects patterns, dismissed concerns, and a lack of internal accountability," one user wrote.
SHRM spokesperson Eddie Burke said the group understood why the case had drawn attention, noting that “as an employer, we are appealing this verdict because our employees trust us to walk the walk.”
He added that the organization maintains that Mohamed “was not discriminated against.”
