Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  Ms. Lee, a Black woman over the age of 40, was an agency producer with Rescue in San Diego for four years. A little under two years working at Rescue, Mr. Oliver, a white man, was hired as her supervisor. Ms. Lee complained to HR and Mr. Oliver's boss about Mr. Oliver's treatment of her over the two years he supervised her.

  On June 5, 2020, the production team had a Zoom team meeting (during the COVID pandemic), a regularly scheduled production meeting that Mr. Oliver normally led to review ongoing work. Rescue had also scheduled a separate, company-wide meeting that same day specifically for employees to discuss the recent killing of George Floyd. As the meeting was getting started, the team discussed why everyone was wearing black shirts. The team indicated they were doing it in solidarity to the Black community, as George Floyd had just been murdered by police. Ms. Lee was not enthusiastic, and the team asked her to explain why she did not support the idea. She began to respond to the team, explaining what it was like for her being a double minority and the discrimination and abuse she witnessed and experienced because of it, especially in the workplace. She told them that putting on a black T-shirt was performative and that nothing ever changes. Because it was so personal and the team invited her comments, Ms. Lee was open, honest, and passionate. When she paused, Josh Oliver, the team supervisor who had arrived late to the meeting,  made a comment that the note taker should be sure to get that all down. (Per respondents' counsel: Witnesses consistently testified that Mr. Oliver entered after the discussion had already begun and appeared not to understand the context.) Ms. Lee said "this is no time for joking" and directed profanity at the group. Mr. Oliver immediately ended the Zoom after Ms. Lee said “f**k you.”

  Ms. Lee went to an HR representative about the incident. She told him that Oliver’s actions were extremely disrespectful of her feelings and experiences as a Black woman. She reminded HR of her previous complaints about Oliver, who she had been told had threatened to get her fired, and told him that she felt unsafe and not valued, which was something that she had felt at times on a larger scale from the company as a whole. At least two of Ms. Lee’s team also went to HR about Mr. Oliver's actions toward Ms. Lee and the Zoom meeting.

  Rescue terminated Ms. Lee's employment on July 20, 2020, about 45 days after she complained about her supervisor's actions during the June 5, 2020 Zoom meeting.

  Ms. Lee filed a complaint in San Diego Superior Court, alleging claims against Rescue for race, color, age and gender discrimination, retaliation, harassment, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, and wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and one claim of harassment against Mr. Oliver.

  During her employment, she signed an arbitration agreement. Defendants compelled arbitration and the hearing took place before JAMS Arbitrator Abby Silverman on March 9, 2026 and concluded on March 24, 2026.

  Ms. Silverman issued her final award on June 4, 2026, finding in favor of Ms. Lee on Claim 4, retaliation under FEHA, and Claim 7, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, against Rescue; and in favor of Rescue and Mr. Oliver on  Claims 1, 2, and 3 for  discrimination, Claim 5 for harassment, and Claim 6 for failure to prevent  discrimination and harassment.

  The arbitrator found Rescue liable for economic damages in the amount of $932,550 and attorneys’ fees and costs totaling $1,114,287.14.

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  Claimant Ms. Lee contended that from the outset of her employment, she raised concerns that she was being denied opportunities because she was a Black woman. She told the CEO and her supervisor at the time, the vice president of Client Services and head of Production, that she felt she was not being provided opportunities at Rescue due to her race and gender and that she wanted the creative leadership role that was ultimately given to Mr. Oliver. 

  After Mr. Oliver was hired into that role, he had meetings with the CEO and the vice president of Client Services, wherein they told Mr. Oliver that if Ms. Lee ever said she was not given opportunities due to being a Black woman, he should correct her and tell her that Rescue is an extremely liberal work environment and that the majority of individuals who work at Rescue are women, the majority of the individuals that are in positions of power are women, including women of color; therefore, this is simply a false statement.

  Ms. Lee also contended that Mr. Oliver harbored hostility toward her tied to her protected status as a Black woman, that the decision makers were aware of it and did nothing to stop it. Ms. Lee's co-worker said that Mr. Oliver told her that he hated Ms. Lee and that he could not fire her easily because she was a Black woman and that he and HR were trying to build a case to fire her and needed to document anything and everything they could against her.

  In May 2019, Mr. Oliver submitted a lengthy written complaint to HR in which he accused Ms. Lee of telling her co-worker that he was not a good supervisor, and having a toxic demeanor and claimed that interacting with her caused him mental and physical distress. At that time, HR was led by an experienced HR director. He and his team concluded in their June 2019 report that Ms. Lee’s criticism of her supervisor to her co-worker constituted protected activity.

  In January 2020, Ms. Lee complained to HR, which was then led by a new HR director who was inexperienced, friendly with Mr. Oliver, and reliant upon Mr. Oliver for legal and HR advice. Ms. Lee complained that Mr. Oliver treated her poorly by yelling at her in front of the team. HR investigated and did not substantiate the claim.

  Then on June 5, 2020 during a team meeting on Zoom, she spoke about the George Floyd murder and racial inequality she had experienced at Rescue. Mr. Oliver was personally offended and shut down the meeting abruptly during Ms. Lee's discussion. Ms. Lee immediately emailed HR that Mr. Oliver’s conduct was racist and that she did not feel safe working under him. Ms. Lee expressly framed the issues in terms of race and systemic inequity, describing a "death by a thousand cuts" pattern in which her Blackness and gender were intertwined with the criticism and denial of opportunities she experienced. Rather than investigate Ms. Lee's racism complaint, HR investigated Mr. Oliver's complaint that Ms. Lee used the word fuck during the June 5, 2020 Zoom meeting.

  After other white co-workers complained to HR, HR ultimately said that Mr. Oliver's actions were inappropriate. However, he was never reprimanded. His boss merely counseled him. Mr. Oliver remained employed with Rescue for years after Ms. Lee's termination until he resigned with an undisclosed severance payment.

  Shortly after the June 5, 2020 Zoom meeting, Rescue laid off a number of employees. Ms. Lee was not included in the layoff. However, on July 20, 2020, Rescue terminated her employment for unprofessional behavior, failure to follow Rescue's policies, insubordination, failure to work on a full-time basis as expected and unsatisfactory work performance. Ms. Lee contended that Rescue's stated reasoning was pretextual and conjured up to cover up the real reasons -- discrimination and retaliation.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  Respondents contended that Ms. Lee failed to meet her burden of proof on any of her claims and her entire case was based on beliefs, feelings, and mere speculations, rather than evidence. Ms. Lee’s unfortunate history of discrimination and harassment in the production industry, which all occurred prior to her employment with Rescue, colored Ms. Lee’s interactions and experiences at Rescue and created a false perception that everything that happened to her was because of her race, sex, or age.

  In July of 2016, Ms. Lee was employed by Rescue as an agency producer. Ms. Lee was required to have – in addition to good production skills – strong intra- and inter-departmental working relationships, good client relations awareness and skills. She was also required to produce good work product within budget. Initially, Ms. Lee reported to the then vice president of Client Services and head of Production. Ms. Lee's supervisor quickly learned that Ms. Lee resisted change and was combative with her coworkers in front of clients. Rescue's executive vice president, who supervised Ms. Lee in 2016, testified that he documented these concerns contemporaneously, including instances of raised voices in the workplace, and coached Ms. Lee on positive conflict resolution, two years before Mr. Oliver was hired in 2018.

  Throughout Ms. Lee’s employment with Rescue, even after Mr. Oliver became her direct supervisor, she was coached and given resources and support so that she could thrive. In late 2017, Rescue was in search of an executive producer to lead the Production Department. Ms. Lee asked to be considered for the position, based upon her nearly 30 years’ experience in production in general. Rescue's then-CEO personally interviewed Ms. Lee about the position before Rescue moved forward with a different candidate. Ms. Lee was not qualified for the position due to her challenges with interpersonal interactions and her lack of managerial skills. This assessment was documented well before the promotion decision: Ms. Lee's 2016 and 2017 performance reviews, prepared by her then-supervisor, and her 2018 and 2019 reviews, prepared by Mr. Oliver, each rated her communication and people skills as 2 out of 5, below expectations.

  Though Ms. Lee was provided with the tools to succeed, she continued to exhibit poor behavior. While Ms. Lee was not a qualified candidate for the executive producer role, she was invited to be an interviewer in the hiring process for that role. During the process, she expressed positive sentiment regarding the hiring of Mr. Oliver.

  As a manager, Mr. Oliver was strict, demanding, and had high expectations of his team. Mr. Oliver was not afraid to speak his mind, even to team members with whom he had good relationships. Ms. Lee, however, felt that Mr. Oliver had taken her position. She disagreed with Mr. Oliver’s leadership style and resented it when he questioned her judgment (notably, after she rehired an underperforming employee the same week he was terminated by Rescue). Ms. Lee believed that every interaction with Mr. Oliver was because he was out to get her or wanted her gone, rather than understanding that Mr. Oliver was demanding of everyone in the Production Department. Though Ms. Lee testified that Mr. Oliver told her, after she rehired the terminated employee, that if it were up to him, she would have been fired, Mr. Oliver did not have the authority to terminate her.

  Seeking retribution for the alleged discrimination and harassment she faced while working with other production companies, Ms. Lee brought suit against Rescue and Mr. Oliver. Although Rescue's decision to terminate Ms. Lee's employment was made on January 13 2020, Rescue’s executive vice president and Rescue's then-HR manager, kept her employed because she was working on productions that required her production skills Additionally, in February 2020, the COVID pandemic began, and the company’s priority became keeping its operations running and transitioning its workforce to remote work. Ultimately, on July 20, 2020, Rescue terminated Ms. Lee's employment for unprofessional behavior, failure to follow Rescue's policies, insubordination, failure to work on a full-time basis as expected and unsatisfactory work performance.  

  The arbitrator found it “illogical to conclude that Mr. Oliver was the real decision maker” in Ms. Lee's termination.