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$17M Awarded to SD Psychologist Fired After Retaliation Complaint at State Prison

The jury awarded $16.8 million after Dr. Fischgrund proved retaliation and defamation following her safety complaints about an inmate threat at Salinas Valley State Prison.

  • A jury in Sacramento awarded Dr. Beth Fischgrund $16,800,000 last week over retaliation and defamation claims against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
  • Fischgrund joined Salinas Valley State Prison through a hiring agency because the state uses contractors amid a shortage and a court order to improve mental health care in a high-security yard.
  • Clinical staff alerted Fischgrund after the inmate who threatened Fischgrund made sexualized comments and violent threats; managers at Salinas Valley State Prison said the threat was not credible, and Fischgrund was fired two days after emailing CDCR headquarters about her safety.
  • After her termination, prison officials at Salinas Valley State Prison allegedly blacklisted Dr. Beth Fischgrund and circulated her identifying pictures, derailing her employment and harming her mental health.
  • The verdict, reached last week, capped Dr. Beth Fischgrund's six-year effort to contest her dismissal, and a CDCR spokesperson declined to comment or say if the state will appeal.
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CBS8 broke the news in on Monday, November 3, 2025.
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