Kristina Sigmon had been at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) for over 30 years. In May 2019, she was laid off as part of a reduction-in-force (RIF) affecting nearly 100 employees.
As one of the senior directors at the institute, Sigmon should have been able to keep her job under Duke’s last-in, first-out policy, whereby staff members with the least seniority are laid off first. But that wasn’t the case.
DCRI is one of the largest academic clinical research organizations in the world. As part of Duke’s School of Medicine, the institute conducts multinational clinical trials through federal research grants and industry-funded projects. Today, it boasts around 1,300 employees, including more than 200 faculty members…