First Circuit Revives Retaliation Claim Against Neurospine Institute Over $15,000 Severance Offer
Updated
Updated · Ward and Smith, PA · Sep 22
First Circuit Revives Retaliation Claim Against Neurospine Institute Over $15,000 Severance Offer
1 articles · Updated · Ward and Smith, PA · Sep 22
Summary
An August 25 First Circuit ruling said Gina Russo presented enough evidence for a jury to hear her Title VII retaliation claim against New Hampshire Neurospine Institute after summary judgment had dismissed it.
The court focused on the practice’s shift after Russo’s gender-bias complaint and later demand letter: it allegedly accelerated her firing, withdrew an independent-contractor opportunity and cut proposed severance to $2,500 from $15,000.
Internal messages strengthened the retaliation case, including the executive director’s note that she planned to have Russo “done this week” and another saying Russo was finished because she was making “allegations that are unacceptable.”
Russo, a physician’s assistant with 11 years at the practice, had been marked for termination after a March 2019 board vote tied to conflict with orthopedic surgeon and co-owner Uri Ahn, but the appeal turned on changed departure terms after her complaint.
The ruling leaves the retaliation claim alive while underscoring a broader risk for employers: revising exit arrangements after a discrimination complaint can itself become evidence of unlawful adverse action.