How Much Is My Racial Discrimination Case Worth?

Non-economic damages compensate you for emotional harm from workplace racial discrimination. This may include:

• Diagnosed mental health conditions like depression or anxiety
• Sleeplessness resulting from mental anguish
• Loss of life enjoyment after the discrimination
• Damage to your reputation
• Strained personal relationships

These damages are especially relevant to racial harassment lawsuits involving offensive, degrading or humiliating treatment on the basis of race.

Non-economic damages are difficult to quantify and require rigorous legal proof to claim successfully. It is not sufficient to say that you were upset or insulted.

It is helpful to keep detailed records or provide compelling testimony from family, coworkers or health care professionals who witnessed the discrimination’s emotional impact on you. These witnesses can attest to the physical and emotional consequences you suffered, like sleeplessness, loss of self-esteem, anxiety or depression.

If applicable, you could also seek counseling or therapy for the emotional distress the discrimination caused you. The charges you accumulate for emotional harm can give a court a clear understanding of what workplace discrimination has cost you. A mental health professional could serve as an expert witness at the discrimination trial.

The other major category of relief for employment discrimination is punitive damages. These damages are not a result of the harm you suffered. Instead, they are meant to punish your employer’s harmful misconduct.

Courts award punitive damages in about 5% of verdicts. Punitive damages only apply to the defendant if they acted in knowing disregard for the employee’s rights. Demonstrating that an employer acted in this way requires compelling evidence.

When the court awards these damages, the jury decides any amount they feel is fair up to the cap if the state has one, rather than applying a strict formula. In practice, courts also consider the ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages and may reduce punitive damages if they are far greater. Some states cap the amount that courts can award as punitive damages. There is no cap in Pennsylvania, but federal limits based on the employer’s size apply. In some discrimination cases, such as when the defendant is a government entity, courts cannot award punitive damages.

The court may also award you attorney’s fees and costs if you win your lawsuit, either in whole or part. Being awarded attorney’s costs help compensate you and your legal team. If you file a charge alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you are typically entitled to an award of attorney’s costs if you prevail.

A court calculates attorney’s fees based on the amount of time and money your attorney spent working on your case. The starting point is the “lodestar” value — your attorney’s hourly rate multiplied by the hours they spent on your case. From there, the court can adjust the amount of attorney’s fees to award based on other factors like the case’s complexity and the resources your attorney invested. You may also be eligible for an award of attorney’s fees if you resolve the case through a negotiated settlement out of court. In addition, a prevailing complainant is also entitled to the recovery of costs like transcription costs and witness fees.