If you’ve faced discrimination in your workplace, taking legal action is extremely important. Employment discrimination is unlawful under federal, New York state, and New York City laws. Working with an employment discrimination lawyer helps hold the perpetrator accountable gives you an opportunity to receive compensation for the damages they caused. Calculating the damages in employment discrimination cases is complicated. There’s no way of getting an accurate estimate as to how much you deserve without having a lawyer look over the details of your case.
Back & Front Pay
Those who have experienced employment discrimination may have suffered financial damages due to their treatment. Back pay aims to make up for the wages you’ve already lost due to being wrongfully terminated. Compensation for back pay typically includes the wages lost starting when you were terminated from the time the compensation you should receive is decided.
Front pay also refers to your lost earnings, but whereas back pay is the wages you’ve already lost, front pay covers the wages you were expected to earn. Your front pay is the income you would have been earning had the discrimination not occurred and affected your position. Rather than receiving front pay, some employees may be given their position back, but this isn’t always a possible remedy. The amount of time someone receives front pay for depends on how long it should reasonably take to find a similar position.
Lost Benefits
Many employees receive benefits through their employer as well as wages that they may lose due to a discriminatory act. Those with employment discrimination cases may be able to receive compensation for the benefits they lost. This can include health and dental insurance, vacation and sick time, and contributions to a retirement plan, such as a 401k or pension.
Emotional Suffering
When you’ve faced discrimination at work, you not only have to suffer economic damages but emotional ones as well. Discrimination in the workplace can be extremely harmful to a person’s mental health, leading to anxiety, depression, and more effects that can impact their well-being. Determining the amount of emotional suffering you should be compensated for can be difficult. However, the emotional suffering caused by discrimination can be extreme, and those who suffer from this deserve to be compensated. A lawyer can help determine an appropriate amount of compensation for the emotional pain and suffering discrimination caused you.
Punitive Damages
In some cases, punitive damages might be awarded. However, it’s important to understand that punitive damages are often only given in especially bad cases. These aren’t intended to make up for the damages an employee faced. Rather, punitive damages are used to punish the perpetrator for the harm they caused.
Find Out What Your Employment Discrimination Case is Worth
There’s no way of knowing how much compensation you deserve or what damages are applicable to your case until you work with an employment discrimination attorney. Every employment discrimination case is different and needs to be looked over carefully to determine what amount of compensation is necessary. At Brown Kwon & Lam, we can provide dedicated legal services that can help give you a better chance at receiving compensation.
Contact an employment discrimination lawyer in New York City at Brown Kwon & Lam today if you believe you experienced employment discrimination.