LOS ANGELES : Judge Upholds $250,000 Award to DWP Employee
A judge let stand a $250,000 jury award to a Department of Water and Power engineer who contended he was passed over for promotions because he is Japanese-American.
Deputy City Atty. Richard Grey had asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward M. Ross to either order a new trial in the case or reduce Kenji Ikenaga’s jury award.
Ikenaga, a 25-year DWP employee, sued the agency after he was denied promotions from associate mechanical engineer to a mechanical engineer position in July and November, 1989.
He claimed he was passed over despite being the top candidate on the Civil Service promotion list, and said he was penalized when he filed a complaint with the state Fair Employment and Housing Agency.
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