Damages in Discrimination Suits

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act – which created many of the anti-discrimination provisions that are the sources of lawsuits today – established a $300,000 cap on compensatory damages for the discrimination faced by an individual at a company.

However, as of June of 2001, this category of damages does not include future pay in its assessment. This means that if a person is unable to be returned to the employment position and pay, the future wages that would have been earned are not included in compensatory damages.

Other damages that can be awarded by a jury include lost wages, legal fees, and punitive damages. The lost wages that are awarded to an individual are awarded in the event that the person is fired or has quit because of the discrimination faced at the company.

Legal fees are damages awarded to cover the cost of securing legal representation for the duration of the lawsuit. As some discrimination suits can take a significant amount of time, the fees for the lawyers can get quite hefty. As a result, the discriminatory employer can be forced to pay the legal fees of the plaintiff, on top of the legal fees for the company's own representation.

Punitive damages are awarded in the event that the employer has done something particularly heinous to the point that the court or jury wants to punish the company. Punishment is seen as a way of deterring similar actions by the same company or other companies in the future.

Contact a Houston Employment Lawyer

If you have been the victim of discrimination in employment, contact the Houston employment lawyers of the Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910.