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Oregon Guards Wrongly Fired Win $1,000,000

Loaded on Dec. 15, 2008 published in Prison Legal News December, 2008, page 38
Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation. Location: Oregon.
Russell Rice and Larry Lytle, both career employees of the Oregon state Department of Corrections, were fired by Superintendent Frank Thomas of the Santiam Correctional Institute in early 2004. Both had long histories of exemplary performance. But they formally complained that Thomas, who was black, gave preferential treatment to black guards, which, since they were white, unfairly discriminated against them. It was shortly thereafter that Thomas began to harass them, finally firing them both. Rice and Lytle filed civil actions in state court.

The case went to trial on February 4, 2008, after which the jury awarded Rice $350,000 in economic damages and $250,000 in non-economic damages, and awarded Lytle $150,000 in economic damages and $250,000 in non-economic damages. The Guards were represented by Paul Meadowbrook and William Brandt, both of Salem Oregon. See: Rice v. State of Oregon, Marion County Superior Court No. 04C-19412.

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