It is generally understood that employees can bring claims for hostile environment, wrongful termination, or even “constructive discharge” – where an employee claims that an employer made working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign. What is less clearly understood is the extent of the economic damages for which a
May 2010
Insubordinate employee does not meet employer’s legitimate expectations.
By Maria Danaher on
Unless an individual can prove that she is meeting the expectations of her employer, that individual cannot set forth the prima facie case necessary to support a claim of workplace discrimination. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found that an employee who was fired for insubordination was not meeting an employer’s legitimate business …
Punitive damages of $250 Million awarded to current and former employees in gender discrimination lawsuit.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in Title VII
In a case in which over $3 Million in compensatory damages already had been awarded to a group of 12 female former employees claiming gender discrimination, the same jury awarded $250 Million in punitive damages to a class of 5600 female employees and former employees of Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation for the same claims. Velez v.
Inability to get along with co-workers can be sufficient basis for adverse employment action.
By Maria Danaher on
Posted in ADEA
Employers often are hesitant to discipline or fire an employee who is in a protected class, knowing that the potential for lawsuit can be higher in those circumstances. This issue was addressed directly by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion in which an employee failed to prove that the company’s…
Company pays judgment for sexual harassment of teenaged employees.
By Maria Danaher on
The EEOC announced on May 5, 2010 that Ohio-based Everdry Marketing and Management, Inc., has paid over $500,000 in damages in interest to satisfy a judgment against that company stemming from a 2006 jury trial. The original claims were filed by 13 women, mostly teenagers at the time of the incidents, who worked at the…