Anchorage Daily News

A federal court jury awarded a former Juneau Fred Meyer worker $208,000 in damages on Friday, saying she was wrongly fired and replaced with a younger woman her supervisor had a "hoped-for" romantic interest in, according to a statement from her lawyer, Mark Choate.

Fred Meyer attorneys argued she voluntarily quit during a meeting when she was criticized for her job performance.

Myrna Johnson had been working at the Juneau Fred Meyer for 10 years in the spring of 2002 when she took an emergency family leave. While she was gone, her supervisor called the human resources department looking for a temporary replacement and was overheard saying he wanted to be sent someone young and attractive, Choate said.

"Don't send me a hag," a witness testified she heard him say according to Choate.

The employee denied making the statement, said Jim Dickens, Fred Meyer's Seattle-based attorney.

The replacement, who came from Wasilla, was young and beautiful, Choate said. The supervisor took her out for drinks.

When Johnson, a manager in the apparel section in her 40s, returned to work, she was told repeatedly she was making mistakes performing tasks she'd been doing for years, Choate said. Her supervisors called her in and told her that her job performance was slipping. She began to cry and left the meeting.

Dickens said she was preoccupied with things going on at home and wasn't performing up to supervisors' standards. They called her in and told her they wanted improvement. She walked out.

"If you walk off the job, that's deemed to be a voluntary quit," he said

Jurors found otherwise. They said specifically in their verdict that Johnson was fired, and unfairly so.

Her job was posted and a week later the younger woman was hired.

Johnson fell on hard times after she lost her job, Choate said, but eventually found employment making far less money. She now lives in California. The settlement is "very vindicating," he said.

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