Nicole Birden

Bullied Employee Collects $1.58 Million From UC Regents

Former UCLA employee Nicole Birden said she feels “good about her victory” now that UC regents have been ordered to pay her $1.58 million, as compensation for her experience in what she and her attorney James DeSimone are calling a hostile and racist work environment. Birden, who is African American, said she was constantly bullied and called names including the N word during her work as a phlebotomist for UCLA. She was eventually terminated, she said, without ever having been written up or subject to any other disciplinary action.

Ex-UCLA Employee Awarded Nearly $1.6M in Harassment Suit

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury rejected Nicole Birden’s claim that she was fired in 2016 due to her race, but the panel determined she was subjected to severe or pervasive harassment because she is black and that her supervisors failed to take corrective actions.