12-17-2025
Joy Slagel worked at Liberty Mutual for over 30 years. In 2017, she filed a lawsuit against the insurer for age discrimination. According to the lawsuit, Slagel’s work experience changed when a new regional claims manager took over in 2012 and over the few years that followed, almost all of Liberty’s workers over the age of 40 in the region were either fired or pressured to leave the company. After the new claims manager took over, there were 120 employees in the office, and only two of those employees were over 40.
Slagel alleged that she was subjected to a series of adverse employment actions, including the new regional claims manager blaming her for team-wide issues and singled her out during meetings. In 2015, Slagel received her first “needs improvement” rating in a performance review. Later that year, she received a customer service award for her handling of a large client’s claim. The regional manager said that she “got lucky” and that winning the award “would never happen again.”
Slagel alleged that Liberty Mutual only investigated her concerns about the manager’s conduct after she took a three-month medical leave due to workplace stress. When she returned to work, Liberty Mutual fired her immediately. Slagel said that the insurance company did not give her a reason, however, Liberty Mutual asserted that it terminated Slagel’s employment for poor performance. The company replaced her with a male in his late 20s.
The jury determined the insurance company was liable for age harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The verdict awarded Slagel $83 million in punitive damages, $15 million for past non-economic losses, and $5 million for future non-economic losses.
Employers should follow litigation outcomes closely.