George Lucas Guilty of Discriminating Against Pregnant Employee

George Lucas Guilty of Discriminating Against Pregnant Employee
By Dominic Patten
Published: June 30, 2010

George Lucas may have invented the Jedi Knights, but a jury has decided he’s no gentleman.

A jury in Marin County Wednesday found Lucasfilm Ltd. guilty of discrimination and wrongful dismissal in the case of Julie Gilman Veronese, a former employee at the “Star Wars” filmmaker’s private estate.

Veronese filed her suit three years ago after being fired from Lucasfilm. The 39-year claimed, and the jury of her peers agreed, she lost her job for being pregnant. The jury came back with their decision after just three days of deliberation.

The trial, which was a year in pretrial litigation, saw three weeks of testimony. The office of Lucasfilm attorney Janine Simerly had “no comment” when contacted by TheWrap, however earlier the lawyer told the Marin Independent Journal that the company planned to appeal.

The San Francisco-based employment lawyer also said she was personally “mightily disappointed” with the verdict. Veronese was not so disappointed. Though only awarded $113,830 in economic loss damages, much less than she was seeking, the 39-year old said her case “was always about the principle."

However, Veronese did contend, like a member of the Rebel Alliance, that "the litigation over the past year and a half was the most abusive process I've ever been through in my life."

Sorry to say, Julie, but wait until the Empire strikes back.