Broadening Use of Mental Health Experts in Employment Litigation

In civil employment litigation cases, the testimony of mental health experts has normally been centered on what degree of emotional distress, if any, the employee suffered, and the causes of any distress. Arguing that claims of sexual harassment were due to the employee's mental illness is somewhat unique.

Employers often have a weak hand to defend themselves against claims of sexual harassment, discrimination and similar allegations, given the difficulty in disproving them. However, in Zhoei M. Teasley v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (dba, SpaceX), the employer's use of a forensic psychiatry expert witness, Dr. Mark Lipian, to defend against such charges by arguing that the employee was mentally ill was crucial to the success of the employer.

Teasley had alleged that SpaceX violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and retaliated against her for allegations. She claimed that SpaceX management ignored the sexual harassment she suffered from a co-worker, that she was unfairly paid less than her male colleagues, and that, after a work-related injury, SpaceX refused to allow her time off and terminated her employment.

In 2013, SpaceX had hired Teasley, who was 20 years old at the time, as a welder in their tooling department, the only woman out of 20 employees there. Teasley alleged that after being hired, she was told by her project manager that it "was a man's world."

In the summer and fall of 2013, Teasley allegedly complained to her direct supervisor about her coworkers and her workplace, including allegations that one of her co-workers had sexually harassed her, calling her "girlfriend" and "baby," showing her pornography on his cellphone and grabbing her by the hips, and that he had threatened her life.

After she made a complaint against him in January 2014, she alleged that she invited a co-worker and friend to spend the night at her house, and that co-worker then sexually assaulted her. Afterwards, when she returned to work, she was further harassed by co-workers. SpaceX terminated the employee who allegedly assaulter her after he refused to cooperate with its investigation into the allegations.

Teasley's counsel, Michael Parks, argued that her supervisor should have known of the problems after she brought him complaints about her coworkers and workplace. Parks argued that SpaceX was liable for the sexual harassment and that the evidence was "black and white" that upper management decided not to accommodate her return to work after she had complained about the harassment. Parks asked the jury to award over $8 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages.

SpaceX attorney Lynne Hermle argued that Teasley had told no one about the abuse until she complained to her direct supervisor in January 2014. Teasley had not told her mother, her partner, friends or her doctor about the abuse, although she had seen her doctor in the summer of 2013 for depression.

Hermle argued that claims the company retaliated against Teasley were false, pointing to emails SpaceX human resources staff sent to Teasley during her leave of absence, in which the staff tried to accomodate Teasley in a different job, emails that Teasley never responded to.

Hermle argued that the jury should look at the "actual evidence," not just the "flawed and fabricated account" of Teasley. SpaceX' President testified that Teasley had not been fired, that she was listed as being on unpaid leave of absence.

Clinical and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Lipian, a specialist in workplace harassment and violence, who had spent a day evaluating Teasley, testified that he found her to fit all the symptoms of borderline personality disorder. This included her change in attitude from calling certain SpaceX co-workers "close friends" to then accusing them of harassment and assault. Lipian testified that Teasley changed her account of the harassment to fit the needs of her lawsuit, something he would expect from a person with such a personality disorder.

At the end of the five-day trial, the jury voted 9-3 in favor of SpaceX on the sexual harassment claim and 12-0 for the company on the other claims. Teasley was awarded nothing.

Zhoei M. Teasley v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cal. Super. Ct. L.A., BC568896