Beck said it is company policy not to discuss specific performance issues of employees.
But Harris said Gibbs’ accomplishments at Harvard, culminating in his selection as a Rhodes Scholar, helped convince the jury that Gibbs was not incompetent and that his firing little more than a month after he complained of racial discrimination must have been retaliatory.
“My client’s academic background really impressed the jury,” Harris said. “It definitely helped belie [Boeing’s] claims that he couldn’t do the job well.”
Harris added that Gibbs had never received a negative performance review prior to his demotion.
Beck said Boeing contended that the human resources department was prepared to tell Gibbs he was going to be laid off—but that Gibbs requested a voluntary layoff first. Beck admitted that Gibbs disputed this version of events.
After leaving Boeing, Gibbs worked for Disney for 18 months and is now preparing to start his own law practice, Harris said.
—Staff writer Alan J. Tabak can be reached at tabak@fas.harvard.edu.