In September 2011, plaintiff Jolee Berdnik, a Fontana Unified School District police dispatcher on a probationary period, was questioned during an internal affairs investigation. Although the interview was initially about an unrelated matter, Berdnik reported that she was sexually harassed by means of a conversation with a district police officer, John Garcia, which made her feel uncomfortable. She did not claim she was ever touched. However, Berdnik also reported that she heard rumors that others thought no one should be left alone with Garcia because he would back them into a corner. Upon further investigation, claims from three other school district employees were discovered days later. They reported that, between October 2010 and August 2011, Garcia sexually assaulted them. In August 2012, almost a year after her complaint, Berdnik was released from probation. She claimed she was released from probation in retaliation for complaining about Garcia. Berdnik sued the Fontana Unified School District and Garcia. Berdnik alleged that Garcia actions constituted sexual harassment and that the school district retaliated against her. On March 2, 2015, a jury awarded Amanda Vandervoort $1,487,000 against Garcia and the school district. However, in the subject case, Berdnik’s claim of sexual harassment was summarily adjudicated against her by the court. Thus, Garcia was voluntarily dismissed from the case on April 17, 2015, and the question of whether Berdnik was sexually harassed was not presented to the jury. As a result, the matter proceeded to trial only against the school district on the question of retaliation. Berdnik claimed that although the internal affairs investigation was regarding a different matter, she made a complaint about Garcia and reported rumors she heard about him. However, she did not claim any coworker was sexually assaulted and she did not identify any other potential victims. She alleged that she only reported that she had heard rumors about Garcia, but that she refused to divulge her source. Berdnik noted that the claims of the other three women were discovered days later upon further investigation. Thus, Berdnik claimed that she was released from probation in August 2012 in retaliation for reporting that Garcia had sexually harassed her and for reporting that she heard rumors about him. Counsel for the Fontana Unified School District argued that Berdnik was dismissed for performance-related reasons., Berdnik was dismissed from her probationary position in August 2012. She claimed emotional distress due to the termination. She also claimed that as a result, she had to take a part-time job that paid less than what she was making as a police dispatcher for the school district. Thus, Berdnik sought recovery of lost wages due to the difference in pay and recovery of damages for her emotional distress.