On Friday, August 25, 2023, following a five-day jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division), an eight (8) person jury unanimously found that Steampunk, Inc. and Steampunk Holdings, Inc., had not discriminated against a former employee on the basis of pregnancy discrimination, nor had the Company retaliated against the former employee in violation of federal law.
The company terminated former Executive Vice President and General Manager Kathleen (Kate) Abrey in January 2021 for consistent underperformance. In June 2022, Abrey filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her 2021 dismissal was motivated by pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. After deliberating for just two hours last Friday, the jurors unanimously rejected Abrey’s allegations of wrongdoing and concluded that Steampunk had not discriminated nor retaliated against her. The jurors returned a verdict in favor of the company on all counts and the court dismissed Abrey’s case in its entirety.
“It’s very unfortunate, but we had been accused of some very calculated and hurtful things,” Steampunk CEO Matt Warren said. “We knew we had done nothing wrong, so we felt obligated to contest Abrey’s claims as maintaining an anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation workplace is of the utmost importance to us. We are greatly relieved that we are now able to set the record straight with the outcome of this trial and continue our steadfast focus on our clients, partners, employees, and culture.”
Steampunk is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and unlawful retaliation, in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives.
John Harllee, Steampunk’s COO, added, “There are times when principles and business expediency conflict, and in those situations, principles must always come first. That’s the Steampunk way. I’d also like to express my profound gratitude to the jury of our peers for their time and attention in seeing justice done last week.”
Steampunk, Inc. and Steampunk Holdings, Inc. were represented by Nigel Wilkinson and M. Robin Davis of Jackson Lewis P.C.
Kate Abrey was represented by Lawrence Pearson and Alfredo Pelicci of Wigdor, LLP.
