CENTRAL ISLIP, NEW YORK — On January 22, 2025, at about 5:00, a jury of five men and two women, after three weeks of trial, rendered a finding in favor of Barbara Russo against her prior employer Tuttnauer, USA (an Israeli-based corporation with operations in Hauppauge, New York) in the sex discrimination case, finding that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and awarding her $2,500,000.00 in compensatory damages and $5,000,000.00 in punitive damages.
The jury determined that Tuttnauer, its then-CFO Kevin Connors and then-Senior Vice President Robert Basile contributed to and fostered a hostile work environment. The case was conducted in the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Central Islip and the presiding judge was the Hon. Joan Azrack.
Ms. Russo, who served that company for some 26 years, was subjected to a toxic work environment that allowed sexist and other inappropriate emails to be sent on a regular basis and did nothing to stop this behavior. Ms. Russo was subjected to comments, abusive sexual language, unwelcome touching and sexual assault by a supervisor.
Witnesses for the Plaintiff included a former Vice President, the former secretary of Defendant Basile, workers who experienced and witnessed the wrongful treatment of Ms. Russo and other women, as well as her son and husband. The expert witness psychologist was Dr. Darlene Powell Garlington, who explained the serious damage done to Ms. Russo, including confirming the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder.