Steampunk wins pregnancy discrimination lawsuit

A federal jury ruled on Friday that a McLean-based IT federal contractor did not discriminate against a former employee on the basis of pregnancy or retaliate against her.

The eight-person jury’s decision was unanimously in favor of Steampunk Holdings and its subsidiary, Steampunk Inc., after a five-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Steampunk (formerly SE Solutions) dismissed Kathleen “Kate” Abrey on Jan. 14, 2021, “for consistent underperformance,” according to the company’s news release. Abrey was an executive vice president and general manager with the company.

On June 6, 2022, Abrey filed a civil lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging that pregnancy discrimination and retaliation were behind her 2021 firing, and that Steampunk had violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act and Pregnancy Discrimination Act, as well as the Virginia Human Rights Act, which protects Virginia workers from unlawful discrimination because of race, religion, sex, age, marital status, gender identity, military status or disability, as well as pregnancy and childbirth. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids employers from discriminating against a worker due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including firing, reduction of hours, layoff or termination of employment.

She sued for damages of an undetermined amount, according to the lawsuit, which claimed she was moved to a less important role with little stability after about four months of parental leave. Abrey gave birth to her son in January 2020 and returned to work in May 2020, at which time she was moved from the contractor’s civilian business to its Department of Homeland Security sector, “a part of the company’s business that was chronically underperforming,” Abrey alleged in the most recent version of the complaint, filed May 2.

Steampunk disputed that the change had anything to do with Abrey’s pregnancy: “Steampunk’s organizational structure had to remain loose while post-employment restrictions imposed by Accenture Federal Services … precluded several Steampunk executives who came from Accenture, including Ms. Abrey, from interacting with clients they dealt with while at Accenture,” according to a May 23 court filing by Steampunk. The noncompete/non-solicitation agreements ended in May 2020.

Abrey also was tasked with overseeing Steampunk’s Department of Commerce work and starting a Department of Justice sector, said Wigdor LLP partner Lawrence Pearson, one of Abrey’s attorneys. In the civilian sector, Steampunk replaced Abrey with a male employee she had hired and supervised before her leave, she alleged in her complaint, promoting him to executive vice president.

According to the lawsuit’s allegations, Steampunk CEO Matt Warren and other members of management “regularly expressed their displeasure with, and distaste for, Ms. Abrey’s leave and status as a new mother,” and Steampunk Chief Operating Officer John Harllee confirmed her “conviction that her pregnancy and leave had harmed her prospects at [Steampunk].”

On Jan. 13, 2021, in a weekly meeting between Abrey, Warren and Harllee, Warren said Abrey’s portfolio had underperformed for six quarters, according to the complaint, although Abrey said she had been in charge of the DHS and Commerce sectors for only the past two quarters. Warren said the first quarter of 2021 would be Abrey’s last chance to keep her position, she alleged in the lawsuit.

Steampunk denied the allegations in a response to the complaint. According to Steampunk’s May 23 court filing, during the Jan. 13, 2021, meeting, Warren and Harllee “discussed with Ms. Abrey their lack of confidence in her ability to forecast accurately, her inability to sell net new, her inability to have her people sell net new, and her lack of doing anything about it.” Warren and Harllee had coached Abrey on these issues multiple times in 2020, according to Steampunk’s court filing.

Abrey’s termination occurred the day after she complained about discrimination against herself and a female job applicant who, according to the lawsuit, “was asking for certain assurances regarding maternity leave.”

Steampunk denied the plaintiff’s allegations of discrimination and retaliation, and after the ruling, Warren said in a statement: “It’s very unfortunate, but we had been accused of some very calculated and hurtful things. We knew we had done nothing wrong, so we felt obligated to contest Abrey’s claims, as maintaining an anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation workplace is of the utmost importance to us. We are greatly relieved that we are now able to set the record straight with the outcome of this trial and continue our steadfast focus on our clients, partners, employees and culture.”

As for the plaintiff, “we’re still making a decision” on whether to appeal, Pearson said. According to Abrey’s LinkedIn page, she is now a principal at Deloitte.

“Ms. Abrey is disappointed in the outcome of the case,” Pearson said in a statement. “However, she remains dedicated to aiding and advocating for the protection and advancement of women in the tech and federal contracting sectors. At this time, we are evaluating our options in her case going forward.”

Steampunk Corporate Counsel Patricia Donkor said in statement: “Steampunk is thankful that the jury rejected Ms. Abrey’s … allegations of discrimination after patiently reviewing days of testimony, emails and performance metrics. … Steampunk is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace free of discrimination, harassment and unlawful retaliation, in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience and unique perspectives.”