A victim of any employment discrimination case, whether he or she is an employee or an applicant, can be entitled to damages. However, the employer must first be found guilty of an act of intentional discrimination or any practices done that have a discriminatory effect towards the employee or applicant.
Damage awards may include back pay for lost wages, payment for pain and suffering, or mental anguish. Aside from monetary compensation, employees and applicants can be entitled remedial measures such as reinstatement on a disputed job position, promotion, or acceptance into the job.
For this to happen, the victim must be eligible to adhere to the established protocol for him or her to receive damages. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency in-charge of investigating employment discrimination charges.
Once a settlement is reached between the erring employer and the victim of discrimination, the EEOC would entitle the latter damages award in case employment discrimination was successfully established. However, if the EEOC did not push through with the investigation of the case, the victim still has a chance to receive damages award in a private lawsuit. The victim must hire one of the employment law attorneys in his or her area to establish a discrimination lawsuit.
The type and the amount of damages that can be awarded to the victim would depend on the complexity of the case and the type of violation. The damages and remedies that can be awarded in accordance to the federal anti-discrimination laws include, but not limited to:
· Hiring, promotion or reinstatement, wherein any can be provided through a court order or through a settlement
· Back pay, which includes compensation for wages and benefits that the victim would have earned from the date he or she was terminated or not promoted to the date of the trial or settlement
· Front pay, which refers to the compensation that would have happened if there had been no discrimination
· Compensatory damages, including actual and future monetary losses and mental suffering
· Punitive damages, which refers to the payment provided as a form of punishment for the employer who exercised a malicious or reckless act
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