Caruso v. The Jackson Lab.
Annotate this CaseSantina Caruso was hired by The Jackson Laboratory as a veterinary technician to care for animals used in medical research. Caruso’s employment was terminated a few months later. Caruso subsequently filed a complaint alleging that the Laboratory had taken retaliatory action against her in violation of the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act after Caruso reported her concerns about the treatment of the animals. After a trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the Laboratory. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the superior court erred in instructing the jury that it could find that Caruso had met her burden of proving causation only if it determined that Caruso’s whistleblowing activities made a “substantial” difference in determining whether Caruso was to be retained or terminated, but the error did not affect the verdict; and (2) the superior court did not err in failing to issue a corrective instruction or grant a new trial following certain statements made by the attorney for the Laboratory during closing arguments.
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