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Employer Liability Issues Punitive Damages

Proskauer Rose LLP

Latest 'Nuclear Verdict' Underscores Jury-Trial Employer Risk

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Last month, in Jane Doe v. Alkiviades David, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a verdict in a sexual assault and harassment case in the amount of $900 million. This verdict is one of the largest ever for a...more

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

McGlinchey Stafford

Workplace Retaliation: Court Slashes $366M Jury Verdict

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This significant workplace retaliation case, Harris v. FedEx, underscores the critical importance of conducting thorough investigations into any allegations of discrimination or harassment by employees. Thorough documentation...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Congress Considers Raising or Eliminating the Statutory Caps on Damages for Claims Brought Under Title VII and the ADA

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Democrats and Republicans within the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have recently expressed bipartisan interest in raising or eliminating the statutory caps on damages for claims brought under Title VII and...more

Littler

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

Littler on

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

Adams and Reese LLP

Jones Act Employers Maintain Their Position on Maintenance and Cure

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A couple of recent cases from the Eastern District of Louisiana provide useful guidance on the limits of maintenance and cure obligations. Given that failure to pay maintenance and cure can give rise to a claim for...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

Bennett Jones LLP

Trends in Canadian Wrongful Dismissal Cases

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How Recent Decisions Signal a Potentially Expanded Approach to Aggravated and Punitive Damages - Two recent decisions: Moffatt v Prospera Credit Union [Moffat], from the British Columbia Supreme Court, and Russell v The...more

Butler Snow LLP

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

Butler Snow LLP on

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

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Sweeping Expansions to New York’s Whistleblower Protections Take Effect

New York employers, take heed: sweeping expansions to New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 740 have fundamentally redefined the protections afforded to whistleblowers within the state. The revised law took effect on January 26,...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

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

First Circuit Weighs in on ADA’s ‘Single Integrated Employer’ Test and Reckless Indifference Standard for Punitive Damages

In Burnett v. Ocean Properties, Ltd., et al., the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict for the plaintiff in his failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Maine Human...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

DC Council Passes COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Workplace Safety Statute

On February 1, 2021, DC Mayor Bowser signed emergency legislation passed by the DC Council, requiring DC employers to “adopt and implement social distancing and worker protection policies to prevent transmission of COVID-19...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

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