Gross McGinley’s litigation team recently represented Melissa Koch “Koch” in the employment discrimination case of Koch v. Mack Trucks, Inc. After a seven-day jury trial, Attorneys Patrick J. Reilly and Samuel E. Cohen obtained a successful verdict, awarding their client damages of $675,000 and the option to petition the court to pay attorneys’ fees, a significant award amount for this type of case.Koch was an employee at Mack Trucks since 1997, starting in Winnsboro, South Carolina, moving to New River Valley, Virginia, and finally to the plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania in 2010. She was a Production Supervisor, consistently receiving good employment reviews in a male-dominated workplace and was noted as “promotable” by her supervisor. Nevertheless, she applied for over 60 promotions, never receiving one. There were several instances when Koch was treated differently than her male counterparts and received no assistance when covering for her superior, even though the men she worked with frequently provided assistance to each other. After filing gender and disability discrimination as well as retaliation complaints with her employer, Mack Trucks conducted an investigation after which the investigator concluded that there was no “intentional” discrimination and that there was reason for Koch to be treated differently.Koch called upon Gross McGinley’s employment litigation team to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and her case was ultimately raised to the federal court level before Judge Edward G. Smith, alleging gender and disability discrimination and retaliation for raising her complaints with her employer.Patrick Reilly, currently serving as Of Counsel to the firm, has extensive experience representing individuals in employment discrimination and disability claims. While still a partner with Gross McGinley, Reilly won a landmark employment discrimination case against a pharmaceutical company, obtaining a $2.5 million dollar award and changing the law regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2013, his client documented her struggles and Reilly’s case in Call to Witness by Sherry Blackman.Sam Cohen is a Partner in Gross McGinley’s Litigation Group, regularly counseling individuals, small businesses, and large corporations on transactions, employment matters, product warranties, and zoning disputes. He has successfully litigated claims founded in breach of contract, employment discrimination, and premise liability defense, to name a few.Pat and Sam were assisted by other members of the litigation team including Adrian Cousens, Michael Blum, Zachary Fowler, Ryan Stauffer, Kristin Cressman, Pa.C.P., and Sally Molina.