Jury orders Nike to pay $7.5M in gender discrimination case

A federal jury has ordered Nike to pay at least $7.5 million in damages to a former employee in a sex discrimination case. The Oregonian reports that Nike discriminated against Heather Hender, who worked as an engineer for the company from 2015 to 2020, by “paying her less than her male peers and promoting her more slowly.” Hender will receive almost $20,000 in economic damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages under Oregon law. Oregon Public Broadcasting notes that the jury spent slightly more than a week hearing evidence and testimony and took a little more than a day before rendering its verdict.