Despite concerns of ‘inconsistent verdict,’ judge awards damages to AL teacher

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    MOBILE, AL (WALA) — A teacher who sued the Mobile County school system over allegations of discrimination based on her pregnancy will get almost $4,000, despite concerns over a possible “inconsistent” jury verdict, a federal judge has decided.

The jury in January awarded Robyn Stevens $3,910 in lost wages and benefits incurred while she was out of work from her job as a middle school teacher. But jurors checked “no” on the verdict form when asked if her pregnancy/childbirth was a motivating factor.

The led Chief U.S. District Judge Kristi DuBose to ask lawyers for both sides to weigh in on how she should proceed. This week, in a one-page order, she let the award stand under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Her ruling was correct,” said Mary Pilcher, an attorney for the plaintiff. “I never believed it was an inconsistent verdict. … My client’s very happy.”

Derek Atchison, an attorney for the law firm that represented the school system, said lawyers are reviewing the decision and have not decided whether to appeal.

Stevens was a non-tenured teacher at Calloway-Smith Middle School in 2016. As is typical for non-tenured teachers, her employment ended after the school year ended that summer. The system eventually hired her back. But she was in the middle of a complicated pregnancy and eventually gave birth.

The key issue was when she became an employee again. She argued it was in August 2016, when she says school officials told her that she had been assigned to teach a seventh-grade civics class. But the school system argued that she was not an employee until she actually returned from her maternal leave.

Pilcher said she intends to ask the judge to order the school system to change its policy.

“They really can’t delay hiring a non-tenured teacher because she’s pregnant,” she told FOX10 News.

Pilcher said Stevens, who now teaches at the Mobile County Alternative School, was brave for taking on the system.

“She loves her job,” she said.

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