A Rand Corp. security specialist who said she was laid off in retaliation for complaining of gender discrimination has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the Santa Monica-based global policy think tank.
Attorneys for plaintiff Cheryl Stone filed court papers Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Montgomery informing him of an “unconditional” resolution in Stone’s case.
No terms were divulged.
Stone was hired in August 2013 as Rand’s director of corporate security and safety. Her duties included leading global security and safety operations and she was a liaison with federal, state and local law enforcement as well as government contractors.
In the ensuing years Stone received praise from management and was evaluated as doing outstanding work in command cyber readiness inspections, the suit stated. She also was credited with her work during the coronavirus pandemic and when social unrest “literally brought violent protest to the doorsteps of Rand’s headquarters,” the suit further stated.
But in January 2022, two male directors in the operations department were promoted to vice president while the two female directors were not, the suit stated. At the end of 2022, Stone was being excluded from tasks and meetings that were under her responsibility and sent a software presentation to her supervisor, who ignored her concerns, the suit alleged.
In January 2023, a classified support operations announcement was sent without letting the plaintiff or another female office director know that a male would soon head Rand’s classified support operations, the suit stated.
Stone spoke up about the new male lead’s allegedly demeaning, condescending attitude in which he blamed the plaintiff for unsatisfactory work that was actually done by his staff, the suit alleges. Stone also told a human resources representative that she was being left out of meetings because she was not part of the “good old boy network,” the suit stated.
The new lead told Stone that there were not many qualified women in chief information positions and roles, insinuating that it was because females were “too stupid,” according to the suit.
Human resources told Stone in October 2023 that her discrimination complaints were invalid and she was laid off a week later after being told her position was being eliminated, but five months later Rand hired a man at a higher salary to her old position, the suit filed in July 2024 further stated.