Jury sides with Delaware's insurance commissioner in federal retaliation case (2024)

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that this specific lawsuit and subsequent trial focused on claims of retaliation in the workplace.

A former head of human resources for the Delaware Department of Insurance pushed forward the latest workplace-related lawsuit against sitting Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro this week.

By the fifth day in U.S. District Court, the jury has sided with the Delaware Department of Insurance.

Jenifer Vaughn, former HR director and controller with the state department, claimed Navarro and his administration sought to influence an investigation into harassment and discrimination complaints beginning in 2017 — and retaliated against her efforts to properly carry it out.

The nine-person gallery didn't see it that way, after some 13 hours of deliberation over two days. Their verdict found Vaughn's lawsuit failed to prove Navarro and his chief of staff, Stuart Snyder, attempted to control her investigation into claims of harassment of a subordinate and led the former human resources head to lose her job.

Two years ago, the state government paid $440,000 to settle another lawsuit against the state-elected official, wherein the Black employee claimed the elected official made repeated comments about her height and weight and inappropriately touched her hair.

That 2019 lawsuit was filed by Fleur McKendell, and her settlement proved to be a live-wire subject in this courtroom, as the administration had admitted to no wrongdoing through the settlement agreement. Friday, the jury reached a similar conclusion.

All week, Vaughn's case looked to show she engaged in an act protected by Title VII, looking to investigate such claims of harassment, and faced adverse employment action by her superiors in connection to it. She said this retaliation came in the forms of lost board appointments, stripping of HR duties, suspension and later termination for sharing her password to state software with another employee.

The state's counsel painted a different picture in the Wilmington courtroom, denying her claims across the timeline.

"As the commissioner has said before, truth matters," Delaware's Department of Insurance said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.

"We are pleased with the unanimous verdict in favor of the department, and that the jurors confirmed that the Department did not engage in retaliation. While the process has been lengthy, justice should be thorough and deliberate, and we are grateful that the facts have been revealed through this process."

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Jenifer Vaughn claimed retaliation

Vaughn's attorney Ron Poliquin looked to capture a case of "dueling loyalties," where Vaughn had to decide between following ethical guidelines or being loyal to a politician.

Vaughn claimed she faced retaliation for investigating her fellow employee's claims of discrimination and harassment, processing her requests for disability and leave, and more. Her legal team looked to trace and support that narrative from not long after Commissioner Navarro's 2016 election, to her ultimate termination in 2020.

But from opening to closing arguments, the defense told the jury: "It's not that complicated."

The state's attorneys from Potter, Anderson & Carroon LLP looked to depict an uncooperative employee, while calling repeated attention to Vaughn's 2019 suspension aftersharing her passwordto a state billing system. She shared it with another longtime employee to approve transactions. The defense cast doubt on how a "stickler" for the rules would condone this lightly, also crediting that loss of clearance to her struggles to gain new employment.

Vaughn immediately admitted to it that summer, both sides said, only to then see herself stripped of access to the system, escorted out and locked from her state email. The defense said such leave was called for to further investigate the violation. Then, Vaughn was terminated.

Vaughn's lawsuit claimed all of this covered the retaliation she faced in handling McKendell's complaint, also delivering emotional and psychological impact.

Defense attorneys said again in closing arguments: "The evidence does not support her narrative."

The jury sided with the state.

What happened inside the Department of Insurance?

"Immediately my work life just changed," Fleur McKendell told the jury in her testimony, getting emotional behind the stand. McKendell worked in the state department for a year before Navarro was sworn in, in 2017.

As he settled in, Vaughn's lawsuit claimed the commissioner favored employees he deemed "loyal," and often meaning those he already knew from past county positions or other men in the office. That first year, McKendell would go on to report intimidation, racial discrimination and harassment she claimed Navarro and others engaged in, as she filed formal complaints.

Those came to Vaughn, long before McKendell's own lawsuit would settle in 2022.

Vaughn's case set out to capture the Navarro administration's attempts to antagonize and intervene — from claims he stood in her office doorway, refusing to move until he received a copy of McKendell's complaint against him, to later demanding to know what side she was on in the investigation, before removing her.

When she said she would not take sides, Vaughn claimed she was promptly excused and "forbidden" from participating in other conversations about her former colleague.

By early 2018, her job duties changed altogether, as Navarro's administration decided to strip all human resource duties from Vaughn's controller position. It would mean a demotion and a pay cut for the state employee of over 20 years. Vaughn felt this was due to her efforts to properly handle McKendell's complaints.

The state denied all of these claims.

The department's counsel asserted that bringing in new executive staff was typical with a new administration, while choosing to take over Vaughn's board appointment also made sense for Navarro. They claimed Vaughn had made "repeated complaints" about her workload, with previous commissioners having already discussed separating the controller and HR functions.

Defense attorneys claimed this case was simply "about decisions, consequences and accepting responsibility for your actions."

Again, the jury seemed to agree.

McKendell was deeply saddened to hear that verdict against Vaughn.

"I will always be profoundly grateful for her support during one of the most challenging times of my life," she said. "Any HR department would be fortunate to have someone of Jenifer’s caliber, dedication and moral integrity."

Friday afternoon, Vaughn's attorney said he still finds himself proud of his client.

"While the verdict was not the outcome we had hoped for, Ms. Vaughn can take immense pride in her resolve to have her voice heard," Poliquin said.

"She seized her day in court as an opportunity to expose wrongdoing and fight for justice. Though this legal battle has concluded, the lasting impact of Ms. Vaughn's crusade to confront bullying and toxicity at the Insurance Commissioner’s office will continue to empower others well into the future."

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Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.