PHOENIX â The Arizona Senate must reinstate a staffer who a jury concluded had been the victim of racial and sexual discrimination, a federal judge ordered late Thursday.
But Talonya Adams won't be getting anywhere near the amount of money in damages she requested â or even as much as the jury said she should get. And Judge Douglas Rayes said she's not entitled to future damages as he directed that she be rehired.
It also remains to be seen how much she will be paid if she starts to work again for the Senate after being fired in 2015. She was earning $60,000 at the time; Adams had said she would accept reinstatement at a salary of at least $100,000.
Adams could not immediately be reached for comment.
Senate President Karen Fann said she hasn't had a chance to speak with attorneys since hearing about the order to decide what to do next.
On one hand, Fann said, there's the court order which needs to be obeyed. But she also said it would be "awkward" to bring Adams back on board given all the history of her employment and the charges she brought against supervisors, including some senators.
"But we'll figure it out," Fann said.
"If that's what she wants to do and that's what we need to do, fine," the Senate president continued. "But if there's another alternative, that's OK, too."
In July, a federal court jury sided with the claims by Adams, who is black, that she was paid less than other male, white counterparts.
Jurors also concluded she was discriminated against with respect to the amount of leave she was allowed to take. And they said she was fired for complaining about the discrimination.
They concluded that she was entitled to $1 million in compensatory damages.
Rayes, however, said federal law limits those damages to no more than $300,000.
The judge also rejected much of her claim that she was entitled to other damages, a list that Adams said included student loan forgiveness, recovery of the penalty she incurred for withdrawing her retirement pay early, her Arizona Bar Association dues and medical benefits.
"Ms. Adams has the burden of establishing her damages and indicating that such amounts are apropriate,'' Rayes wrote. But he said she has not shown "the amounts shown are even recoverable in these circumstances under the law, let alone demonstrated that the amounts she seeks are appropriate.''
But the judge did award her $38,693 in back pay and another $10,000 in post-termination pay.
Most notable is Rayes granting her request for reinstatement, "which the Senate has confirmed is feasible." He ordered that Adams and the Senate to reach an agreement "regarding the terms and conditions of the position to which Ms. Adams will be reinstated."
In her complaint, Adams said she was hired by the Senate in November 2012 as a policy advisor, essentially a staffer who helps lawmakers craft and understand legislation.
Adams said she was "a strong performer who did not receive any negative criticisms during her employment."
In early 2015 Adams said she learned that male, non-African American counterparts "received substantially higher salaries and salary increases. And she said while the job responsibilities were the same she had a "heavier workload and more challenging committee assignments."
Adams also complained that she was told she would have to use annual leave to travel to Seattle to be with her son who was hospitalized due to a medical emergency. And Adams said she stayed in contact with the Senate and even did some work while in Seattle only to be told she had been fired for insubordination and abandoning her job.
In formal responses to the lawsuit, Wendy Baldo, the Senate chief of staff, cited a series of issues with Adams' work and how she dealt with her supervisors.
Baldo also said Adams was paid better than or comparable to other similarly situated Democrat policy advisors despite the fact she had the least experience. And Baldo said that there were other people hired at higher salaries but they had additional responsibilities.
