This page is about wrongful discharge claims and settlements in North Carolina. It will be rare for good cases to go to court, simply because they commonly settle out of the courtroom. But when they don’t settle, there’s always a lawsuit, where only one party will win.
Many of these litigation cases consist of mixed settlements, meaning they implicated 1, or possibly several claims of wrongful firing caused by breach of employment contract, whistleblower, gender discrimination, workplace retaliation, race, color, national origin, religion discrimination, pregnancy, constructive discharge, age discrimination, sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity discrimination, firing in violation of public policy or disability.
The data displayed provides a summary of the various types of cases filed together with their volumes in the state of NC 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 3752 | 4.50% | 1447 | 1034 | 262 | 149 | 114 | 1854 | 1432 | 751 | 1210 | 52 | 9 |
Source: https://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/state_17.cfm
Wrongful discharge and discrimination cases & settlements in North Carolina
$ 1,140,000
10/25/2017
Crystal Eschert v Charlotte Fire Department
Crystal Eschert worked as an arson investigator for the fire department in Charlotte.
Her department was to be moved into a new office building, which she deemed unsafe. She complained about, and was fired not long after. She sued the city for wrongful termination in retaliation for her objection to worker safety. The city claimed that she was fired for posting an inappropriate Facebook post.
The jury found the city guilty of retaliation, and awarded Eschert $1.5 million. Instead of continuing with litigation, the city chose to settle this wrongful termination case. They paid her a settlement of $464,538 in back pay and compensatory damages, $42,037 in pre- and post-judgment interest and $628,524 attorney costs. Source
$ 84,750
5/24/2011
EEOC v KobeWieland Copper Products LLC.
KobeWieland Copper is a manufacturing company which makes copper tubing products. Joseph Cardwell applied for and was offered a caster position at the company’s plant in Pine Hall, NC.
On his first day on the job, the HR manager noticed that Cardwell had a disability. He was missing fingers on his left hand as a result of a childhood accident, and the manager thought that Cardwell would be unable to perform his job. He was fired immediately.
This violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, as he was perfectly capable of meeting his job requirements. He was wrongfully terminated due to a perceived disability.
The EEOC sued the company, and the case was settled through consent decree. Cardwell received a monetary settlement of $84,750. Source
$ 110,000
1/6/2011
EEOC v Measurement Inc.
Jacqueline Dukes was employed by Measurement Inc, and educational testing company, in Durham, NC.
She was asked to come to work on a Saturday, but she had to refuse for religious reasons. She was a member of a Christian denomination called Children of Yisrael, and the Saturday fell on Sabbath. Her religion didn’t allow her to work that day.
She was terminated for refusing to work, even though her refusal stemmed from a religious belief. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act states that employers must reasonably accommodate religious beliefs, if they do not cause undue hardship on the company.
She reported the events to the EEOC, who sued the company on her behalf for wrongful termination and religious discrimination. The case was settled with a consent decree, Dukes received a settlement of $110,000. Source
$ 350,000
5/2/2017
Jennifer Soper v Lewis County
Jennifer Soper worked for Lewis County as the Drug Court Manager. She worked for the county for 9 years, after being forced to resign.
She alleged that her constructive discharge was the result of 9 years of harassment and retaliation she had to bare working for the county. She claimed that she was sexually harassed by Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt on many occasions. Soper also alleged that she was retaliated against after complaining about the mental health of a Drug Court Compliance Officer, the practices of Child Protective Services.
She sued the county for hostile workplace, retaliation and nine years of sexual harassment. Lewis County chose to settle the lawsuit, not admitting fault. She received a settlement of $350,000. Source
$ 89,000
1/12/2018
EEOC v Mission Hospital Inc.
Mission Hospital in Asheville is the main hospital of the Mission Health System. The hospital requires some of it’s employees to receive flu shots every year by December 1. Exemptions may be give, if filed by September 1.
3 employees requested exemptions from the flu shot because of their religion. They missed the September deadline with their requests, did not get the flu shots and as a result, were fired.
The EEOC sued the hospital for religious discrimination in violation of Title VII, as the hospital could have accommodated the employees’ request. The hospital moved for summary judgement, which was denied. Instead of continuing with the lawsuit, it chose to settle the case through a consent decree and pay $89,000 to the wrongfully terminated employees. Source
$ 300,000
3/31/2009
EEOC v Britthaven, Inc.
Britthaven is an assisted living chain & nursing home based in Kinston, NC.
After several reports of pregnancy discrimination, the EEOC filed sued against the company. It was found that Britthaven subjected pregnant women to different terms of employment. Once the company became aware that an employee is pregnant, they required a full medical clearance to continue working. This resulted in the termination of several pregnant women, despite them being fully capable of working.
The EEOC sued the company for pregnancy discrimination, which violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The case was settled through a consent decree, Britthaven paid $300,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to the women affected. Source
$ 871,603
8/26/2015
Eric Rappaport v Raleigh OB/GYN Centre
Eric Rappaport was a partner at Raleigh OB/GYN Centre, and worked as a gynecologist there for decades. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2007.
He claimed that since his diagnosis, he was the target of an effort to force him to resign. He was reported to the Medical Board as unfit to practice, even though his neurologist cleared him for work. An investigation by the Board also cleared him to practice without restriction.
He filed a disability discrimination with the EEOC in 2013, and in retaliation, he was placed under administrative leave pending a fitness-for-duty test. He refused the test, and was fired in January, 2014.
He sued the company for wrongful termination, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and retaliation for filing an EEOC report. The jury found for Dr. Rappaport, and awarded him $467,603 in compensatory damages and $404,000 in punitive damages. Source
$ 48,000
11/25/2013
EEOC v Mountaire Farms
Frantz Morette began working as a Haitian translator at Mountaire Farms’ poultry processing facility in Lumber Bridge, NC.
Morette noticed that the Haitian workers were treated differently than other employees. They were not allowed to take bathroom breaks, were not given the necessary training to apply for better jobs within the company, and were harassed by non-Haitian supervisors and coworkers.
Morette made a report to his supervisors and the HR department, stating that the Haitian workers were treated poorly and in a discriminatory manner. A few days later, he was fired.
This violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. He took a stand against discrimination, and in retaliation, he was wrongfully terminated. The law protects not just those being discriminated against, but also those complaining about the unlawful conduct.
The EEOC sued the company, and the case was settled through a consent decree. Morette received a settlement of $48,000. Source
When considering our listing of unlawful firing verdicts from North Carolina, understand that the larger amounts are as a consequence of punitive compensation, that are handed out to dissuade organizations from taking part in the same kind of unjust conduct. Punitive compensation is extremely infrequent. A large percentage of lawsuits settle for about $40,000 to a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
Our list of unlawful firing settlements and verdicts in NC is intended for informational purposes.
Even if you feel resemblance to any of these circumstances, bear in mind that every case is unique.
What is the average wrongful termination settlement in North Carolina?
If you believe you were wrongfully terminated, it’s easy to understand that you would like to check just how much money you can expect to get for your wrongful dismissal claim. In the event that you settle (or prevail in court), the amount of money you acquire is largely determined by these factors: costs of finding a new job, lost earnings, reason of discharge, medical costs, mental anguish and lost benefits. Punitive damages might also be granted in rare cases, if the workplace acted egregiously.
As you will notice from the sample claims above, giving a median settlement for wrongful termination claims in NC is actually hard since every single case is unique.
The average wrongful termination settlement in North Carolina is between $5,000 – $90,000.
Lawyers can be helpful when brokering a higher settlement.
The average court or jury awards are generally higher, around $100,000 and $300,000. This is definitely one reason organizations like to reach settlement out of court.
Filing a wrongful discharge or discrimination claim in North Carolina
If you believe you had been dismissed from your job for some kind of unlawful cause, here is what to do.
First and foremost, you will need to speak with a wrongful termination attorney in North Carolina to see if there is a claim worth pursuing.
Ensure you do not run out of time to submit your alleged claim, look into the North Carolina statutes of limitations with regards to wrongful discharge.
Next, you will probably need to submit a timely claim with the local EEOC District Office in Charlotte.
Here are some recommendations on filing a wrongful discharge claim.
