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Proving Punitive Damages in Employment Cases

NCJ Number
170768
Journal
Trial Volume: 33 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 26-28,30-31
Author(s)
D Levandoski
Date Published
1997
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Punitive damages are recoverable for violations of Federal anti-discrimination laws related to employment, but to recover punitive damages the attorneys for the plaintiffs must remember to ask for them.
Abstract
Federal laws cover employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, as well as disparate treatment of people with disabilities. Attorneys should ask for punitive damages in these cases and for liquidated damages in age discrimination cases. Evidence of a defendant's worth is relevant and admissible when determining the amount of punitive damages. Proving employment discrimination can be difficult. Recovering punitive damages in a case involving race, sex, disability, or religious discrimination requires plaintiffs to prove that the defendant acted with malice or with reckless indifference to the Federally protected rights of the plaintiff. The combined compensatory and punitive damages may not exceed a sum that varies from a low of $50,000 to a high of $300,000 depending on the number of employees in the organization during the last 2 years. Federal appellate courts may review an award of damages for excessiveness. Attorneys for the plaintiffs should consider several issues when deciding on a case strategy. Reference notes