This web page concerns unlawful termination settlements in Indiana. It will be unusual for good claims to go to court, as they usually reach settlement out of court. But when they do not reach settlement, there could be a trial, where one side will prevail.
Most of these cases have mixed settlements, implying they involved one particular, or perhaps several claims of wrongful termination as a consequence of race, color, national origin, religion discrimination, whistleblower, firing in violation of public policy, workplace retaliation, disability, gender discrimination, sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity discrimination, age discrimination or constructive discharge.
The table beneath shows a snapshot of the various kinds of cases filed in conjunction with their specific numbers in IN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 2389 | 2.80% | 793 | 759 | 139 | 76 | 105 | 1067 | 811 | 550 | 896 | 24 | 1 |
Source: https://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/state_17.cfm
Wrongful discharge and discrimination cases & settlements in Indiana
$ 55,000
5/26/2011
EEOC v Affiliated Computer Services Inc.
Affiliated Computer Services is a company which operates many of Inidana’s public benefit’s programs.
The company used a staffing company called Alpha Rae Personnel Inc. to recruit employees. One of the employees hired had a known disability. Instead of accommodating the disability, she was terminated from her job.
This violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the EEOC sued the company on the employee’s behalf. The wrongful discharge case was settled with a consent decree, the ex-employee received $55,000. Source
$ 238,902
2/4/1999
Wilson v AM General Corporation
William Wilson worked for AM General Corp for over a decade. The company manufactured Hummers for the military, and later the non-military version.
In 1994, when Wilson was 60 years old, he was fired. The company claimed he was let go because of company-wide layoffs. Wilson alleged wrongful termination due to age discrimination, which violates the The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. His reasoning was that younger workers were not fired, even though they were not as qualified as he was.
The case went to trial, and the jury awarded Wilson $238,902. Source
$ 15,000
12/22/2014
EEOC v Bright Petroleum Inc.
Michelle Bunte worked as deli manager at The Bright Market convenience store in Dearborn County.
She filed a sex discrimination complaint against the company with the EEOC. Afterwards, her employer disciplined her, and ultimately fired her.
Bunte contacted the EEOC, and Bright Petroleum was sued for wrongful termination due to retaliation, which violates Title VII. The case was settled with a consent decree, Bunte received $15,000. Source
$ 710,000
6/21/2012
Kathy Bull v Ball State University
Kathy Bull was the tennis coach at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
She became aware of some NCAA violations, so she self-reported them. She was put on probation at the university after she made her reports, and fired less than a year later.
She alleged wrongful termination due to retaliation for her report on the school, and also sex discrimination, defamation and breach of contract.
The case was settled out of court, as the University thought it would be cheaper than going through with the trial. The terms of the settlement were that she would receive medical benefits for life, and $550,000 in case totaling $710,000. Source
$ 4,600,000
6/23/2004
Melinda K. Young v Daimler Chrysler
Melinda Young worked at the Kokomo plant of DaimlerChrysler. In 1978, she suffered an arm injury, which left her incapable of working for years. She returned to work in 1993 and was assigned to work at a test-stand.
In 1998, she applied for another position in the inspection department, but was denied due to her disability, when in fact, she would have been able to complete the tasks required by the job.
She filed a disability discrimination complaint with the EEOC, and as a result, she got the transfer. However, she was moved back to her original position after her supervisor told her that disabled workers cannot work in the inspection department.
She sued the company for wrongful discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliation, and was awarded $4.6 million. Source
$ 100,000
1/6/2016
EEOC v Seymour Midwest
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects all individuals over 40 from unjust age discrimination at the workplace. This includes not only existing employees, but job applicants as well.
Steve Maril applied for the senior vice president of sales position at the company. He was being interviewed via email. One of the questions was whether he was within the ideal age range of 45-52. Since he was above this age range, the company did not hire him.
Maril filed an age discrimination complaint with the EEOC, and Seymour Midwest chose to enter a consent decree. Steve Maril was paid $100,000 in monetary relief. Source
$ 45,000
5/19/2016
EEOC v Office Concepts
Lynsey Burd worked for Office concepts in Fort Wayne. She filed a pregnancy discrimination report with the EEOC, because she was fired after her manager found out she was pregnant.
Immediately after she was fired, a new employee was hired in her place.
Office Concepts denied wrongful termination but chose to settle the case with a consent decree, and paid Burd $45,000. Source
$ 45,000
3/14/2011
EEOC v Indiana Health Centers
Indiana Health Centers is a healthcare provider operating in Indiana.
A dental hygienist was fired days before she was to go on scheduled pregnancy leave, which violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
The EEOC sued the company, and the wrongfully terminated woman received a monetary settlement of $45,000. Source
When viewing this listing of unlawful termination verdicts from Indiana, take into account that the large amounts are due to punitive compensation. Punitive damages are brought to discourage businesses from doing the same type of unlawful conduct. Punitive compensation is very infrequent. A large number of claims will settle for between $10,000 to a few hundred thousand dollars.
This unique listing of unlawful firing verdicts in IN is intended for informational purposes. Even if you feel similarity to any of these lawsuits, keep in mind that each case is unique.
What is the average wrongful termination settlement in Indiana?
It is understandable that you might want to check approximately how much money you are likely to get for your wrongful discharge case.
If you come to an agreement with the employer, the total amount you acquire is primarily determined by the following: lost wages, lost benefits, the costs of finding a new job, medical costs, reason of discharge and emotional distress. Punitive damages could be granted in rare situations, in the event the workplace acted egregiously.
As you can see from the sample claims in this article, giving a standard settlement for wrongful discharge claims in IN is actually tricky, as every claim is unique.
The average wrongful termination settlement in Indiana is between $4,000 – $90,000.
Attorneys can be beneficial in working out a higher settlement.
The average court or jury awards tend to be bigger, between $100,000 – $450,000. This is certainly one reason why employers choose to come to an agreement outside of court.
Filing a wrongful discharge or discrimination claim in Indiana
If you feel you had been let go for some kind of unlawful cause, read on to find out what to do.
Most important, you’ll need to speak with a wrongful termination lawyer in Indiana in order to discover whether you have got a claim worth going after.
Don’t wait, as there can be cutoff dates to filing wrongful firing claims in Indiana.
2nd, you are going to most likely need to submit a timely claim with the EEOC office in Indianapolis.
Here are the steps you will need to take to file a wrongful discharge lawsuit.
