News & Analysis as of September 21, 2024

Punitive Damages

+ Follow

Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and can create tremendous liability for employers who fail to properly adhere to acceptable employment practices. Some of the potential pitfalls in this area stem from discriminatory hiring practices, improper performance evaluations, and retaliatory firings. less -

Alberta, Canada Court Holds Senior Executive Personally Liable to Employer

Littler on 10/24/2023

In Breen v Foremost Industries Ltd, 2023 ABKB 552, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta dismissed the claim of a President and CEO that he had been wrongfully dismissed from his employment, finding that his employment had...more

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

Littler on 11/1/2021

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

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

Proskauer - California Employment Law on 9/9/2021

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

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

Fisher Phillips on 8/19/2020

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

NYC Council Considers Legislation to End At-Will Employment in the Fast Food Industry

Cozen O'Connor on 2/12/2020

The New York City Council has proposed additional legislation that would have a major impact on businesses falling within the broad definition of “fast food establishments” and has scheduled a hearing on the bills for...more

EEOC Sues Black Forest Décor for Disability Discrimination

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 9/28/2019

Home Décor Business Fired Warehouse Employee for Taking Unpaid Leave It Forced Her to Use, Federal Agency Charges - LOUIS - Black Forest Décor, LLC violated federal law when it forced a worker with a disability at its...more

Fast Food Chain Turns $626 Loss Into Nearly $8 Million

Flaster Greenberg PC on 9/24/2018

When Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fired store manager Jeanette Ortiz, accusing her of stealing $626 in cash from the safe, it could never have expected its minimal theft loss to balloon into a nearly $8 million jury verdict...more

Law @ Work Employer Newsletter - The Savvy Employer’s Guide to Legal Developments & Quirks that Affect the Workplace

Flaster Greenberg PC on 9/14/2018

Welcome to the third edition of the Law @ Work Employer Newsletter. For those of you who read the Law @ Work blog, you know that the blog offers an in-depth analysis of important legal developments. This Newsletter fills in...more

California Court Of Appeal Affirms Remittitur Of Punitive Damages To Lower Than 1:1 Ratio

Mayer Brown on 6/12/2018

In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, the Supreme Court strongly implied that in some cases even a 1:1 ratio of punitive to compensatory damages might be too high. In Torres v. B/E Aerospace, Inc., the...more

Two Recent Jury Verdicts Award $6 Million and $7.97 Million To Wrongfully Terminated Employees

Proskauer - California Employment Law on 5/17/2018

Two recent verdicts from California Superior Court juries have awarded former employees $6 million and $7.9 million, respectively, in compensatory damages after a finding of wrongful termination. Martinez v. Rite Aid Corp....more

Halloween Flashback: Our Scariest Stories for Employers

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on 10/31/2017

Ghosts, ghouls, and ghastly liability; the last is certainly enough to spook any employer. For this Halloween, we take a trip down Elm Street to revisit the most startling nightmares we’ve ever covered....more

It’s time to think about arbitration agreements again following recent $15 million+ employee verdicts

Proskauer - California Employment Law on 9/5/2017

Jury panels in the Los Angeles Superior Court (which is often referred to as “The Bank” by the plaintiffs’ bar) have recently delivered multimillion-dollar verdicts to former-employee plaintiffs. Many employers doing business...more

Fifth Circuit Protects 40-Year-Old Case and Affirms ADEA Limits On Recoverable Damages

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 1/3/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a somewhat rare interlocutory appeal, the Fifth Circuit reviewed and reaffirmed a 40-year old case holding that emotional distress and punitive damages are not available under the ADEA. This decision...more

Ninth Circuit Substantially Reduces Punitive Award Against Walgreen

Mayer Brown on 10/17/2016

Things have been quiet in the world of punitive damages for the last few months, but two recent decisions substantially reducing punitive awards under the BMW/State Farm factors warrant mention. My colleague Miriam Nemetz...more

Triple Damages Sufficiently Punitive to Bar Punitive Damages

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 1/6/2016

Jennifer Gierer says she was fired because she expressed concerns about her employer’s submission of false durable medical equipment claims to Medicare. So she sued her employer and her boss, alleging (a) retaliation under...more

Employer Ordered to Pay Whistleblower $100,000 Punitive Damages

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 10/13/2015

In a recent Federal District Court OSHA 11(c) retaliation case, Perez v. Sandpoint Gas N Go, 14-cv-357 (9-29-2015), Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill provides a strong reminder that the Courts will protect from retaliation...more

EEOC Sues Dehaven’s Transfer & Storage, Inc. for Pregnancy Discrimination

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 9/23/2015

Moving Company Fired Female Employee Because She Was Pregnant, Federal Agency Charges - DURHAM, N.C. - DeHaven's Transfer & Storage, Inc., a residential and commercial moving company, violated federal law when it fired a...more

Wacky Employee Claims: What Employers Can Learn From Outlandish Situations

Lewitt Hackman on 7/22/2015

Think you've heard every cautionary workplace tale? Believe it or not, you probably haven't – the real question is, how prepared are you to handle wildly unusual complaints, extreme accommodation requests, and highly awkward...more

West Virginia Employment Update: The Mountain State is Becoming Much More Attractive to Employers

Littler on 6/10/2015

For the past several decades, West Virginia has not fared particularly well when employers were faced with tough decisions regarding whether to close or open new facilities in the state. One of the factors that undoubtedly...more

Employment Client Alert: Punitive Damages Award in Title VII Sexual Harassment Case Does Not Violate Due Process

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP on 12/15/2014

In State of Arizona v. ASARCO LLC, WL 6918577, published December 10, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an award of $300,000 in punitive damages did not violate due process even though no compensatory damages...more

20 Results

View per page

Page: of 1

Hiring & Firing › Wrongful Termination › Punitive Damages

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"