Calculating Damages in Employment Discrimination Cases By Dan Atkerson on December 08, 2019

If you’ve faced any sort of discrimination at your workplace, it’s important that you get in touch with the Law Offices of Dan A. Atkerson. Our law firm has helped people in Allen, Plano, and Frisco, TX with their employment discrimination cases, reaching fair settlements as well as collecting legal damages during trials.

Many people who contact our law firm have questions about legal damages in their case and how much can be collected. Let’s take a moment to consider the basics of legal damages and how our team can help you.

Types of Legal Damages Sought

In any sort of civil case, two kinds of damages can be sought:

Compensatory damages
Punitive damages

It’s not out of the question for both compensatory and punitive damages to be sought in an employment discrimination case. Let’s break each of these down individually.

About Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are intended to cover the financial and material losses associated with an act of employment discrimination. This could include back pay you are owed by your employer that you could not collect due to workplace discrimination, employment benefits you could not use as a result of the discrimination you faced, and in some cases the emotional pain and suffering you’ve experienced as a result of workplace discrimination.

How Compensatory Damages Are Calculated

Calculating compensatory damages is relatively easy. Lawyers can look over pay stubs or the employee’s salary and determine the amount in back pay that they are owed. The same is true of job benefits that could not be used and, in the case of emotional pain and suffering, counseling and therapy bills.

An attorney can discuss other costs and additional expenses that may be covered by compensatory damages. Ultimately, the judge in the case will make the final determination should it go to trial.

About Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are intended to punish the employer for wronging the employee in some way. These kinds of damages are typically rare in employment discrimination cases, and would only be sought if the instances of workplace discrimination were particularly egregious.

How Punitive Damages Are Calculated

Punitive damages are not tied to real world material or financial losses, and they are typically determined by the nature of the discrimination and similar cases from the past. There are also caps in how much can be sought in punitive damages for employment discrimination based on the size of the employer.

How Do Damages Compare to Settlement Amounts?

The amount sought in damages and the amount offered in a pre-trial settlement can differ in many ways. It’s important to have a skilled lawyer on your side to accurately assess the worth of your case and whether or not the settlement offered is fair given the hardships you’ve faced.

Speak with a Skilled Employment Law Attorney

If you or someone you care about has faced mistreatment while on the job, be sure to contact a skilled workplace discrimination and employment law attorney. The Law Offices of Dan A. Atkerson can be reached in Allen by calling (214) 651-4187. Our legal team is here to help.