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Punitive Damages Employment Litigation Employer Liability Issues

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

White Employee Fired Amidst Corporate Diversity Initiative Wins Discrimination Claim But Loses Multi-Million Dollar Punitive...

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Plaintiff, a white man, was a strong performer in his role before he was fired and replaced by three women, two of whom were racial minorities, amid a Diversity and Inclusion initiative that included a call to restructure the...more

Littler

British Columbia Appeal Court Finds Employee’s Sexual Harassment of Subordinate not Sufficiently Serious to Justify His Dismissal

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In Café La Foret Ltd. v. Cho, 2023 BCCA 354, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld a lower court’s determination that an employee’s sexual harassment of his subordinate was not sufficiently serious to justify his...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

U.S. Virgin Islands Supreme Court Affirms Compensatory Damages Award to Former Employee Claiming Age Discrimination

On December 5, 2022, the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands upheld a 2019 jury verdict, which found that Caribbean airline LIAT (1974), Ltd., had discharged its former area manager, William Cherubin, because of his age in...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

L.A. Jury Delivers Mother of All Verdicts – $464 Million to Two Employees!

As we have previously reported, jury verdicts in employment cases have continued to skyrocket in recent months, and there is no sign they are leveling off. Late last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded a total of...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Judge Reduces $137 Million Race Harassment Verdict Against Tesla to $15 Million

A federal court judge pared down last year’s jaw-dropping $137 million damages award against Tesla in a racial bias lawsuit. On April 13, 2022, the judge granted Tesla’s motion for a reduction in the amount of damages in part...more

Butler Snow LLP

Step-dad’s “slobbery” kiss leads to big trouble for Tennessee employer

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Under Title VII, an employer can be held liable for retaliation by a non-supervisory co-worker if (1) the conduct is sufficiently severe to dissuade a complaint of discrimination; (2) management was aware of the behavior; and...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Los Angeles Jury Hands $155 Million Holiday Gift to Fired Insurance Executive

As we recently reported, California juries continue to award massive verdicts to employees with alarming regularity. And, just in time for the holidays, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury upped the ante on Thursday, handing a...more

Littler

$10 Million “Reverse” Race & Gender Discrimination Verdict Gives DE&I Programs a Halloween Fright

Littler on

For the past several years, companies have been focused on creating and executing meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs to address the multi-faceted challenges—and opportunities—of diversifying their...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

San Francisco Jury Hits Tesla with $137 Million Race Harassment Verdict

On Monday afternoon, a San Francisco federal court jury awarded $137 million to a Black former elevator operator who worked at Tesla’s Fremont facility for approximately one year before quitting his employment in 2016.  ...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

California Jury Awards Employees $7.6 Million in Latest Gargantuan Wrongful Termination Verdict

A Los Angeles jury has ordered an apartment building owner and property management company to pay $7.6 million to two former live-in apartment managers who claimed to have been wrongfully terminated and discriminated against...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court of Appeal Upholds Jury’s $150,000 Punitive Damage Award Against Employer

Littler on

Punitive damages are awarded against an employer in favour of an employee only if the employer engaged in wrongful acts that are outrageous, reprehensible, and offensive to ordinary standards of decent conduct in the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

[Webinar] Background Checks: The Advent of the New Employment Class Action (Part 2) - September 10th, 11:00 am PT

Class action litigation brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is on the rise—particularly in California—after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2017 decision applying a hypertechnical...more

Polsinelli

New Missouri Law Limits Punitive Damages Against Employers

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Missouri Governor Mike Parsons recently signed Senate Bill 591, which impacts Missouri employers by significantly restricting the availability of punitive damages.  Beginning August 28, 2020, plaintiffs in Missouri will face...more

Fisher Phillips

Pinterest’s Former Chief Operating Officer Levies Claims Of Gender Bias Against Company

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Former Pinterest Chief Operating Officer and top ranking female executive Françoise Brougher just filed a 17-page complaint in San Francisco Superior Court against Pinterest alleging a toxic work environment that allowed...more

Fisher Phillips

June 2020: The Top 21 Labor And Employment Law Stories

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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

Burr & Forman

South Carolina Employment Law Letter: 4th Circuit delivers blow to Title VII punitive damages

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In a recent case involving multiple issues—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, and state law claims among them— the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers)...more

McDermott Will & Emery

[Webinar] Background Checks: The Advent of the New California Employment Class Action - July 30th, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm PDT

McDermott Will & Emery on

Class action litigation brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is on the rise—particularly in California—after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2017 decision applying a hypertechnical...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Missouri Limits Punitive Damages in Workplace Safety Lawsuits

On July 1, 2020, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed Senate Bill (SB) 591, which modifies various provisions relating to civil actions. Notably, for Missouri employers, the bill modifies and restricts the way punitive...more

Smith Anderson

Federal Court Ruling Limits Punitive Damages Awards for Sexual Harassment

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Punitive damages are an extraordinary remedy under Title VII, and in order to obtain them, the plaintiff must satisfy a higher standard. Nonetheless, the threat of substantial punitive damages under Title VII should put...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Punitives Are Meant to Punish: So What Happens When Management Watches & Ignores Complaints of Female-on-Male Sexual Harassment?

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The 4th Circuit rejected a punitive damages award won by a male AutoZone worker who accused the Company of blatantly ignoring complaints of sexual harassment by his female co-worker, finding that managers...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Managers' Indifferent Response to Harassment Complaint Does Not Subject Employer to Punitive Damages

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows awards of both compensatory and punitive damages capped at a total amount depending on the size of the employer. In a new decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

$13M UCLA Case Exposes Calif. Employment Litigation Flaws

In Pinter-Brown v. Regents of the University of California, the California Court of Appeal’s Second Appellate District recently reversed a blockbuster $13 million judgment that was entered against UCLA in favor of one of its...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New York Federal Court Approves Employees’ $1.8 Million Slice In EEOC “Onionhead” Religion Discrimination Lawsuit

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Seyfarth Synopsis:  In an EEOC-initiated religious discrimination suit involving an employer’s alleged imposition of “Onionhead” religious practices, a federal district court in New York recently denied the employer’s motion...more

Dickinson Wright

The Sixth Circuit Reaffirms the “Less Burdensome” Standard for Adverse Actions in Retaliation Claims and Upholds Punitive Damages...

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In a decision designated for publication, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order reaffirming the “less burdensome” standard for “material adverse actions” in retaliation claims and upheld...more

Stoel Rives - World of Employment

Pay Equity Update: Oregon Legislature Amends Equal Pay Law

SB 123, just passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Brown, makes several amendments to Oregon’s pay equity law. Most notable are the revisions to the limited affirmative defense available to employers in litigation....more

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