On October 11, 2024, after less than three hours of deliberation, an 8-member jury unanimously ruled in favor of Maureen Hill, a former Supervisory Contracting Specialist with the D.C. Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), in her claim that the D.C. government retaliated against her after she reported her concern that OCP engaged in improper contract splitting and failed to disclose millions of dollars in contracts from D.C. Council oversight as required by law. The jury awarded Ms. Hill a total of $3.451 million in damages, one of the largest amounts ever awarded under the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act, and, in doing so the jury delivered a resounding deterrent message to employers who terminate whistleblowers in the District. The jury awarded Ms. Hill lost income in the amount of $934,000.00, compensatory damages in the amount of $17,000, and damages for emotional distress in the amount of $2,500,000.
The verdict was featured in an article in the Washington Post. You can read the article here: Fired D.C. government whistleblower wins 3.4 million judgment against the city – The Washington Post.
Ms. Hill was represented by Cori Cohen, Stephanie K. Wood, and James W. Richard, II of Gilbert Employment Law, P.C. The case was filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
