This article is about unlawful termination settlements in the state of Arizona. It is really rare for good claims to go to court, because they frequently reach settlement out of court. Nevertheless when they don’t settle, there might be a lawsuit, where the plaintiff or defendant will win.
Many of these lawsuits incorporate mixed verdicts, meaning they implicated one, or possibly several claims of unlawful firing attributable to constructive discharge, firing in violation of public policy, race, color, national origin, religion discrimination, pregnancy, age discrimination, sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity discrimination, gender discrimination or breach of employment contract.
The data displayed exhibits a summary of the various types of claims filed in addition to their volumes in the state of AZ in 2017.
| State | 2017 Total Charges | % of Total USA Charges | Race | Sex | Natl Origin | Religion | Color | Retaliation All Statutes | TVII Retaliation | Age | Disability | EPA | GINA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1988 | 2.40% | 437 | 656 | 264 | 94 | 55 | 959 | 680 | 429 | 696 | 28 | 0 |
Source: https://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/state_17.cfm
Wrongful discharge cases & settlements in Arizona
$ 100,000
3/28/2017
EEOC v Valley Life
On behalf of 4 ex-employees, the EEOC sued Valley Life for disability discrimination, a company who’s stated mission is ironically “To enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities.”
According to the claims by the ex-employees, Valley Life regularly fired employees with disabilities who needed reassignment or extended leave, rather than providing reasonable accommodations. The company didn’t enter into dialogue with employees about what accommodations would be needed, they simply fired people who had exhausted their paid time and unpaid leave under the FMLA.
This conflicts with the Americans with Disabilities act, as they were wrongfully terminating disabled workers, instead of providing reasonable accommodations.
The case ended with a consent decree, where the company would pay $100,000 to 4 employees who had been wrongfully terminated and discriminated against. Source
$ 300,000
12/13/2007
HIGGINS v. ASSMANN ELECTRONICS, INC.
Kristina Higgins worked for Assmann Electronics. She entered into a consensual sexual relationship with her boss and CEO, Hans Ulrich Meyer.
After a while, they became distant. Meyer, the CEO still sought the company of Higgins, so he went to her apartment and entered uninvited. He found Kristina Higgins and another man dressed only in a bath towel. Meyer became enraged and violent. He punched Higgins, and yelled, “You’re fired”.
She did not officially return to work anymore. A few days later, she collected her personal belongings from the office with a police escort. A few weeks later, she received a letter stating she was fired.
Higgins sued the company and Meyer for assault and wrongful termination. She was awarded $300,000 in damages, a decision affirmed by the court of appeals. Source
$ 66,000
5/3/2016
EEOC v Moonshine Whiskey Bar
Michelle Viscusi was a bartender at Moonshine Whiskey Bar.
She became pregnant in 2015, after which she was fired from her job. This case of pregnancy discrimination was proven with an audio recording of one of the operator’s executives: “There’s going to be a whole number of people that I would be offending by allowing a pregnant person to be behind the bar…”
Discrimination based on pregnancy violates Title VII.
The case was settled in court, where the judge ordered Moonshine Group to pay $15,721 in back pay + $925 interest, $10,000 in compensatory damages, $15,000 in punitive damages, and $25,000 from True Country Enterprises LLC., the new operator of the bar. Source
$ 500,000
12/8/2009
EEOC v. SWMW Management, Inc., Bell Road Automall, Inc., and Big Bell 21 LLC.
The companies listed were auto dealerships operating Phoenix. The company had an active culture of racism and sexual harassment among it’s employees and supervisors.
The EEOC sued the companies on behalf of 5 ex-employees, who had been harassed while working at the dealership. Female employees were constantly propositioned for sexual favors, pornography was widespread on company computers, racial and ethnic slurs were used often. Human dignity was basically disregarded in it’s entirety.
All 5 charging parties were harassed, and after they informed the managers of the behavior of the harassers, they were retaliated against through demotion, termination, or constructive discharge.
The case was settled by consent decree, where the employer would pay $500,000 total to the defendants. Source
$ 16,000
5/3/2008
Francisco Rene Molina v. PLS Check Cashers of Arizona
Francisco Rene Molina worked for PLS Check Cashers of Arizona in 2006, a local check cashing business.
During normal business, the store somehow came to have counterfeit $100 bills amounting to approximately $2,500 to $5,000. The business should have taken the bills out of circulation and accepted the loss, but instead, the manager ordered the employees to pass the fake bills out to customers.
Molina complained about this, for which he was discharged.
The victim sued the business for wrongful termination due to retaliation, and won the case. The judge awarded $16,000 to Molina as back pay. Source
$ 50,000
7/29/2013
EEOC v Swift Aviation Group
Adam Donmez had a Turkish/Palestinian heritage, and was a practicing Muslim. While working at Swift Awiation, he was harassed because of his national origin by his supervisors.
The employee reported the harassment to another supervisor, but the company did nothing to end it. Donmez was soon forced to resign his employment, since he could not bare the harassment any longer.
Discrimination based on national origin and religion at the workplace is illegal in the USA under Title VII of 1964. The EEOC sued the employed on behalf of the victim. A consent decree was reached, which required the employer to pay $50,000 in back wages and compensatory damages to the victim. Source
$ 585,369
7/31/1997
Garcia v. Southwest Gas Corporation
Garcia had been working as a gas service technician for Southwest Gas Corporation, the largest distributor of natural gas in Arizona and Nevada.
He was fired from his job, because his supervisor believed he was making too much money as a technician.
Garcia sued his former employer for wrongful termination and breach of implied employment contract, and was awarded $585,369 in damages. Source
$ 220,000
12/23/2002
EEOC v Wal-Mart
Jamey Stern was pregnant, when she applied for a position at Wal-Mart in Green Valley, AZ.
At her job interview, she told the Assistant Manager conducting the interview, that she was pregnant. His reply was for her to “come back after she had the baby.”
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and Title VII protects not just existing employees against discrimination, but people looking for a job as well. The victim reported the incident to the EEOC, who sued Wal-Mart on her behalf.
The lawsuit lasted 11 years. In the end, Stern received $220,000 in damages including punitive damages. Source
When viewing our list of wrongful termination verdicts from Arizona, understand that the larger sums are attributable to punitive compensation, which are brought to deter corporations from doing the same type of unlawful act. Punitive damages are relatively uncommon. A good number of court cases settle for between $20,000 to one hundred thousand dollars.
This unique listing of unlawful termination settlements in AZ was created for informational purposes. Even though you may feel similarity to any of these cases, do not forget that each and every single case is different.
What is the average wrongful termination settlement/award in Arizona?
If you feel you were wrongfully terminated, it’s understandable that you would like to find out approximately how much money you could be given for your unlawful discharge lawsuit. If you settle (or win your trial), the exact amount you are given is normally based on these factors: reason of termination, mental anguish, job search costs, lost earnings, lost benefits and medical expenses. Punitive damages may also be awarded in rare cases, in the event the company behaved egregiously.
As you’ll see from the example claims mentioned above, giving a typical settlement for unlawful termination cases in AZ is going to be really difficult since every single case is unique.
The average wrongful termination settlement in Arizona is between $6,000 and $80,000.
Attorneys are usually helpful in brokering a higher settlement.
The average court or jury awards tend to be bigger, between $110,000 – $450,000. This is one of the reasons employers like to reach settlement before going to court. Numerous years of going to court, bearing the legal costs and possibly losing the lawsuit in the end can be very expensive.
Filing a wrongful termination claim in Arizona
If you feel you were discharged for some kind of illegal reason, below is information on what to do.
Before anything else, you will want to get in touch with a wrongful termination lawyer in Arizona in order to discover whether there is a case worth pursuing.
Do not delay, because there are actually cutoff dates to reporting unlawful firing claims in Arizona.
Secondly, you will most likely need to submit a timely claim with the EEOC Phoenix District Office.
Here are a few tips on filing a wrongful discharge lawsuit.
