A fired employee brought a big dollar lawsuit against his former employer and got exactly that from the jury – one big dollar.
Oscar Olivares, a supervisor at Brentwood Industries, alleged that after suggesting that some of his crew’s temporary workers get applications for regular jobs, he was told that the company did not want to hire more Mexican workers. A few weeks later, he was fired when it was discovered that two of his employees were not wearing their personal protective equipment.
Olivares sued the company for race discrimination and the jury issued a verdict in his favor. However, since he had obtained new employment and failed to prove any actual monetary harm, the jury awarded him the grand total of one dollar for his troubles.
Jury Award Makes Cents Sense
Olivares appealed the damage award to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals but to no avail. The Appeals Court ruled that without proof of lost earnings, the jury had no choice but to award only nominal damages, and the one dollar verdict certainly fit that bill.
Olivares then asserted that in the absence of monetary damages, he should have been awarded reinstatement to his previous job or one just like it. However, the court denied this request, noting first that there were no other comparable supervisory positions into which he could be placed. Even if there was, the court concluded that “serious trust issues” between Olivares and the company were a sufficient basis for denying reinstatement.
Court Doesn’t Back Front Pay
Olivares tried one last approach, claiming that if reinstatement was not possible he should receive front pay instead. The Court shot this down as well, claiming that in the absence of evidence of lost wages, the front pay request was just as speculative, and just as inappropriate, as the back pay demand.
Bottom Line
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said that “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” In this instance, winning truly was the only thing for the terminated employee because he ended up with nothing else – no damages, no reinstatement and no front pay. We can’t help but think that like so many employment-related disputes, this matter could have been resolved in a more efficient and effective manner.