On Monday, the same day the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld certification of the biggest employment discrimination class in history in Dukes v. Wal-Mart , Novartis sales representative Marjorie Salame took the witness stand in U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon’s Manhattan courtroom.
Salame, according to a transcript of the day’s proceedings, told a distressing story. In May 2002, she testified, her Novartis career was thriving. She was exceeding sales targets, organizing lecture series and beginning to take on management responsibilities. Then, at a late-night Novartis-sponsored event with physicians the company was courting, she misplaced her keys. She was cornered by one of the doctors at the event and before she was able to get away, she told jurors, the doctor raped her.
