Employees have a fighting chance
By Loring Spolter
03/01/06

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes it easier for employees to win workplace discrimination cases. Now, jurors can award money even when workers suing their employers lack significant proof that discrimination led to firings, demotions, refused promotions or other significant career setbacks. Workers who can show some but not a lot of evidence of discrimination are now entitled to win job bias cases so long as they raise significant doubt as to whether employers truthfully explained reasons for adversely impacting their job status, according to a unanimous opinion by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The Supreme Court ruled that a Mississippi plumbing parts manufacturer could be held liable for age discrimination for stating it fired a supervisor for not maintaining accurate attendance and time records of employees he supervised. A manager, who had made age related comments about other older workers, claimed finding numerous errors and misrepresentations in attendance records kept by 57-year-old Roger Reeves, an employee having a 40 year tenure with the firm. Company owners followed the manager's recommendation that Reeves be fired. Jurors were persuaded that Reeves had kept accurate records. With jurors now being permitted to infer discrimination occurred when evaluating whether employers have lied as to why they took job actions against workers, employees are able to win lawsuits which would otherwise have been dismissed by judges or lost with jury verdicts. That's good news for thousands of Floridians who file job discrimination lawsuits each year. LORING N. SPOLTER, a Fort Lauderdale trial attorney, represents employees in matters involving discrimination, unemployment compensation and other job issues and can be contacted at (954) 728-3494.