Currently there is a split in Ohio Appellate Courts as to whether employment actions, such as age discrimination, ADA disability, gender, race, religious, GINA, sexual harrassment, national origin, retaliation and any other Title VII discrimination should be classified as "tort actions" in Ohio.
You may ask: What is a Tort Action? A tort is a civil wrong committed by one person against another. There are three board cateogories of torts; intentional torts (battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.); negligence; and strict liability.
Why does it matter? Well it matters if punitive damages are to be awarded in an employment discrimination suit. In general there are two types of damages that are awarded in employment discrimination suits, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
If an employment discrimination suit is considered a tort action, then in Ohio, punitive damages have a tort cap and are limited to two (2) times compensatory damages. If the employment suit is not a tort then there is no cap on punitive damages. Example: compensatory damages $3.5 million and punitive damages $43 million. In the example punitive damages would be 12 times compensatory damages. In general punitive damages are usually in single digits (1-9) times compensatory damages but there is no limit if not a tort action.
Another affect on employment cases, if they are tort actions, is the tax liability the client's award would have. If a tort then the award of damages is a personal injury to the client and as far as I know personal injury awards are not taxable to the client. However, I am not a tax attorney and would like to have any CPA or tax attorney respond to this question.
A recent case October 2011, Luri v. Republic Services, Inc., 2011 Ohio 2389, 953 N.E.2d 859, Eighth Appellate District, Cuyahoga County decided this issue for the Eighth District. Luri was a retaliation case. The jury awarded $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $43 million in punitive damages for the largest retaliatory discharge verdict in Ohio history. However, the Eighth Appellate District held that the Ohio Tort Reform Act would apply to employment cases and therefore limited punitive damages to two (2) times the compensatory damages reducing the punitive damages to $7 million dollars from $43 million. (2 x $3.5 million compensatory = $7 million punitive).
I guess we will have to wait on the Supreme Court of Ohio to rule since there is a split in several of the appellate district courts.
You may ask: What is a Tort Action? A tort is a civil wrong committed by one person against another. There are three board cateogories of torts; intentional torts (battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.); negligence; and strict liability.
Why does it matter? Well it matters if punitive damages are to be awarded in an employment discrimination suit. In general there are two types of damages that are awarded in employment discrimination suits, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
If an employment discrimination suit is considered a tort action, then in Ohio, punitive damages have a tort cap and are limited to two (2) times compensatory damages. If the employment suit is not a tort then there is no cap on punitive damages. Example: compensatory damages $3.5 million and punitive damages $43 million. In the example punitive damages would be 12 times compensatory damages. In general punitive damages are usually in single digits (1-9) times compensatory damages but there is no limit if not a tort action.
Another affect on employment cases, if they are tort actions, is the tax liability the client's award would have. If a tort then the award of damages is a personal injury to the client and as far as I know personal injury awards are not taxable to the client. However, I am not a tax attorney and would like to have any CPA or tax attorney respond to this question.
A recent case October 2011, Luri v. Republic Services, Inc., 2011 Ohio 2389, 953 N.E.2d 859, Eighth Appellate District, Cuyahoga County decided this issue for the Eighth District. Luri was a retaliation case. The jury awarded $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $43 million in punitive damages for the largest retaliatory discharge verdict in Ohio history. However, the Eighth Appellate District held that the Ohio Tort Reform Act would apply to employment cases and therefore limited punitive damages to two (2) times the compensatory damages reducing the punitive damages to $7 million dollars from $43 million. (2 x $3.5 million compensatory = $7 million punitive).
I guess we will have to wait on the Supreme Court of Ohio to rule since there is a split in several of the appellate district courts.
I think the admin of this website is truly working hard in support of
ReplyDeletehis web page, for the reason that here every stuff is quality based information.
Also visit my website : whiplash compensation solictor