The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed a judgment for a plaintiff in a retaliation case, but substantially reduced the size of the plaintiff's emotional distress damages. The case is Trainor v. HEI Hospitality, LLC.
HEI Hospitality hired Lawrence Trainor in 2006, at the age of
59, to be a Senior Vice-President ("SVP"). In the fall of
2008, HEI offered Trainor a choice: remain SVP and relocate to
Norwalk, Connecticut or become General Manager of a
Cambridge, Massachusetts hotel, with a substantial pay cut. Trainor
engaged an attorney, who wrote to HEI to complain that it was
forcing this untenable choice on him because of his age. HEI later
informed Trainor that it was eliminating his SVP position but that
he could still accept the General Manager position. Trainor filed a
charge of age discrimination with the Massachusetts Commission
Against Discrimination, and his employment was terminated several
hours later.
Trainor ultimately filed suit in the United States District Court
for the District of Massachusetts, claiming that HEI had
discriminated against him because of his age and retaliated against
him because of his complaints of age discrimination. After an
eight-day trial, the jury found in HEI's favor on the age
discrimination claim, but found in Trainor's favor on the
retaliation claim. It awarded him $500,000 in back pay, $750,000 in
front pay, $1,000,000 for emotional distress, and equitable relief.
The District Court reduced the emotional distress damages to
$500,000, and, because the jury found that HEI had knowingly
violated state law, doubled the damages. It also awarded Trainor
$533,553.15 in attorneys' fees.
The Court of Appeals affirmed in all respects except as to the
award of emotional distress damages, which it found "grossly
excessive" even after the District Court's reduction in
light of the fact that Trainor had never sought or received any
treatment or suffered any physical infirmity. The Court of Appeals
concluded that the maximum recovery for emotional distress damages
permitted by the evidence is $200,000.
This case presents two key reminders for employers. First, even
when an employee's discrimination claim fails, an employer can
still be found liable for retaliation if a jury finds that the
employee had a good faith basis for complaining about
discrimination and the employer took action as a result of that
complaint. Second, a claim for emotional distress damages can
result in a substantial award even when an employee has not sought
medial treatment or suffered physical harm.
Originally published on the Employer's Law Blog
www.daypitney.comThe content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.