On Feb. 20, 2015, plaintiff Latasha Burton, 25, a respiratory therapist coordinator, was terminated from her job at Pulmocare Respiratory Services Inc., in Colton, which specializes in provided home respiratory care and assessments for patients with acute respiratory illnesses. Burton previously began working for Pulmocare Respiratory Services in May 2013. Her job responsibilities required her to work both in the field and in the office. While in the field, Burton provided treatment to patients, and she documented each treatment to confirm to the company’s insurance billing requirements. While in the office, Burton completed orders for previous and incoming patients. In September 2014, Burton became aware that she was pregnant. She claimed she promptly informed her immediate supervisor and her department’s head of human resources. However, she claimed that when she applied for health care benefits in January 2015, she was transferred into a part-time position, in which she would work as a respiratory therapist in the field without any further office duties. As a part-time employee, Burton was no longer eligible for health care benefits. She claimed that when she explained to the head of human resources that she would need health care insurance from Pulmocare as a result of her pregnancy, she was told to speak with her supervisor. However, Burton claimed that after she sent an email to her supervisor on Feb. 17, 2015, her supervisor called her into the office and told her that she was being terminated. Burton sued Pulmocare Respiratory Services Inc. for alleged pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination. Burton claimed that when she applied for health care benefits in January 2015, her supervisor informed her he believed her position and rate of pay were inappropriately high for someone with her “condition,” in reference to her pregnancy. She claimed that her supervisor then explained that he would be transferring her into a part-time position, making her no longer eligible for health care benefits. Burton alleged that she explained to the head of human resources that she would need health care insurance because of her pregnancy and was told to speak with her supervisor. However, she claimed that rather than address her request for health care benefits, her supervisor called her into the office and told her that she was being terminated for her alleged “failure to perform” in connection with two incidents involving patients. Burton claimed her supervisor refused to show her documentation of the alleged incidents and that she never received a single verbal or written warning from Pulmocare prior to her termination. She also claimed that she never had any prior work performance issues and that while working for Pulmocare, she consistently displayed an exemplary performance and never received a negative review from her patients. Burton alleged that after she notified her supervisor that she was pregnant, she was subjected to a hostile working environment. She claimed that she documented numerous derogatory and incendiary comments made by managers regarding her pregnancy. She also claimed that her supervisor expressly told her that her “condition” — a clear reference to her pregnancy — made her rate of pay inappropriately high, and told her during her termination discussion that he disliked her and that she was no longer an asset to the company. Thus, Burton argued that she was subjected to two adverse employment actions as a result of her pregnancy: she was first demoted to a part-time employee and then terminated. Defense counsel denied all of Burton’s allegations, contending that Burton was terminated for legitimate, legal reasons. Counsel contended that Burton’s pregnancy had nothing to do with the decision to terminate her employment and that Burton was fired for poor job performance. Defense counsel argued that there were a number of problems with Burton regarding her work performance and that because of a change in staffing in January 2015, it became necessary to offer Burton a part-time position as a respiratory field therapist. Counsel contended that the change in staffing resulted in the need to obtain a replacement respiratory therapist in the field and that although the field position offered to Burton was part-time, Burton would have earned the same amount as she did while working in the office at her typical hourly rate of $18 per hour. Counsel further contended that when the part-time proposal was made to Burton, she did not object and readily accepted the offer. Defense counsel argued that, previously, Burton had not opted to receive medical insurance from Pulmocare because she was getting it through her father. Counsel also argued that on Feb. 4, 2015, the day prior to offering the new part-time position, Burton was involved in an incident that involved a failure to provide contact information to a Medicare biller, which resulted in a loss of income to Pulmocare and delayed the delivery of a new custom tracheostomy tube. Defense counsel further argued that a subsequent workplace incident involving Burton occurred on Feb. 10, 2015, during which Burton was involved in an event that resulted in a delay of over one week in getting necessary life support equipment to a patient. Counsel contended that a job performance evaluation based on interviews with other individuals in the company further revealed that Burton rated very poorly in terms of her overall job performance. Thus, defense counsel argued that Burton was appropriately terminated after Burton was involved in the second event, in which Burton failed to respond to the urgent medical needs of a patient in a timely manner., Burton claimed that she was unable to find employment after she was fired. She also claimed that she suffered emotional distress and depression as a result of the adverse employment action and that her career path as a respiratory therapist became derailed. Thus, Burton sought recovery for her loss of earnings and emotional-distress damages. She also sought recovery of punitive damages against Pulmocare Respiratory Services, alleging that the actions of her supervisor were egregious and done with malice.