This webpage is focused on unlawful discharge claims and settlements in the state of Louisiana. It is really rare for good claims to go to court, because they typically reach settlement out of trial.
A large number of these court cases have mixed settlements, implying that they involved a single, or perhaps a number of claims of unlawful termination as a consequence of sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity discrimination, breach of employment contract, pregnancy, constructive discharge, whistleblower, race, color, national origin, religion discrimination, age discrimination, workplace retaliation, gender discrimination or firing in violation of public policy.
The table displayed provides a snapshot of the various kinds of cases filed along with their respective numbers in Louisiana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 1669 | 2.00% | 684 | 468 | 63 | 44 | 71 | 854 | 763 | 247 | 409 | 20 | 5 |
Source: https://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/state_17.cfm
Wrongful discharge and discrimination cases & settlements in Louisiana
$ 170,000
1/7/2010
EEOC v Saks Fifth Avenue
Marlene Babin worked for Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans since 2000. She was diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel illness, and had 5 major surgeries, which resulted in extended medical leaves.
After her last operation in January of 2005, Babin was called by the company, and told to return to work otherwise she would be fired. Her doctor had only cleared her for work from March, but she returned to work anyways. However, she broke her wrist just before returning to work, and was fired immediately. They told her it was because they couldn’t accommodate her broken wrist, even though 2 other makeup artists had worked with broken wrists before.
She contacted the EEOC, and filed a lawsuit alleging she was really fired for her bowel disease, which violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. After a judge made it clear that the case would go to court, Saks chose to settle the case and pay $170,000 to Babin. Source
$ 110,000
2/25/2011
Jauronice Hayes v Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services
Ms Hayes worked at a Belle Chase plant owned by Conoco Philips. One of her male supervisors made repeated sexual comments and requested sexual favors.
Hayes declined the unwelcome advances of her supervisor, and she was fired in retaliation. Afterwards, her supervisor called her several times and promised her job back, if she would have sex with him.
The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the company for violating Title VII due to sexual harassment and retaliation. The company chose to settle this wrongful termination case. Ms Hayes received $100,000, and another female victim who was also harassed by the same supervisor received $10,000. Source
$ 30,000
10/30/2015
EEOC v Baker Wellness Center, Inc.
Baker Wellness Center is an adult day care center in Baton Rouge.
The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the company, after it received a report from an ex-employee who was wrongfully discharged because of her diabetes. This violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Firing an employee because of a disability, and not providing reasonable accommodation is illegal.
The company chose to settle this wrongful termination case through a consent decree, the victim received $30,000 in damages. Source
$ 496,000
8/4/2003
Michael Lee Johnson v Healthworks International of Winnsboro
Michael Johnson filed and won a religious discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit against his former employer, Healthworks International.
The case alleged that while working at the company, Johnson was pressured to become a member of the Apostolic Tabernacle. He refused, and in retaliation he was not paid properly, harassed, demoted and ultimately discharged. This behavior violates Title VII, as it present religious discrimination.
The jury awarded Johnson $196,600 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages. Source
$ 125,000
2/28/2014
EEOC v Boh Brothers Construction Co
Kerry Woods worked for Boh Brothers on a construction project in New Orleans. He was an iron worker.
His supervisor, also male, started harassing Woods through verbal abuse and showing sexual taunts. Apparently the supervisor thought Woods was too feminine, and didn’t fit the stereotypical rough image of an iron worker.
Woods reported this to his superiors, but was retaliated against since he was moved to a different location, than terminated.
The EEOC sued the company on the victims behalf for same-sex harassment and retaliation, which violates Title VII. Seven years of litigation followed, and in the end, the company settled the lawsuit and paid $125,000 to the victim. Source
$ 53,000
10/6/2017
Broussard v. First Tower Loan, LLC
Tristan Broussard is a legal transgender man (born a woman, later converted into a man).
He worked as a management trainee at the financial loan company in Lake Charles, LA. His supervisors had learned that he was transgender, and presented him with the company dress code, requiring him to dress like a female. They asked him to sign a document acknowledging that him dressing like a male was against the company’s personnel policies.
He refused, and was fired. This violates Title VII, since employers cannot terminate someone because they are transgender.
The case was settled through arbitration. The company was ordered to pay $53,000 in damages to Broussard. Source
When examining this listing of unlawful termination settlements from Louisiana, take into account that the large amounts of money are as a result of punitive damages, that are handed out to dissuade employers from engaging in the same kind of unlawful act. Punitive damages are especially infrequent. Most court cases will settle for anywhere from twenty thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars.
This unique list of unlawful termination verdicts in LA is meant for informative purposes. Despite the fact that you feel similarity to any of these examples, do not forget that every single situation is unique.
The average wrongful discharge settlements in Louisiana
It’s understandable that you want to determine approximately how much money you are likely to receive for your wrongful dismissal lawsuit. In the event that you settle, the figure you acquire is primarily based on the following: job search costs, medical costs, benefits lost, emotional distress, reason of termination and lost wages. Punitive damages could be granted in rare cases, in the event the company acted egregiously.
As so you see from the example lawsuits mentioned above, presenting a standard settlement for wrongful termination claims in LA is really difficult since every claim is different.
The average wrongful termination settlement in Louisiana is between $5,000 – $90,000. Attorneys can be beneficial when brokering a better settlement.
The typical court or jury awards are usually bigger, approximately $90,000 and $300,000. This is one of the reasons employers choose to come to a mutually acceptable agreement out of court.
Filing a wrongful discharge or discrimination claim in Louisiana
If you feel you had been discharged for some kind of unlawful cause, here is what to do.
First of all, you will need to consult with a wrongful termination law firm in Louisiana in order to discover whether there is a claim worth pursuing.
Ensure you don’t run out of time to submit your alleged claim, look into the Louisiana laws of limitations regarding wrongful termination.
Second, you are going to probably need to submit a timely claim with the EEOC in New Orleans.
Here are the steps you need to take to file a wrongful discharge claim.
