New York Age and Disability Discrimination Verdicts are the Highest
A new study of employment law jury award trends concluded that New York disability and age discrimination verdicts had the highest median awards. The study shows that the median jury verdict for disability discrimination cases was $257,048 and the median verdict for age discrimination cases was $256,342. The study covered the period from 2003 to 2009. Race discrimination and sex discrimination verdicts were lower at $200,000.
These verdicts, however, change considerably based upon the court in which they are tried. Federal courts produce much lower verdicts. For example, the median jury verdict in state court for age discrimination is much higher at $332,577 but the median verdict in federal court for age discrimination cases is only $237,207. Likewise, the median state court verdict for disability discrimination cases is $280,356 while the median verdict in federal court is $240,000. Employment discrimination plaintiffs are better off in state court. Also, based on my experience, federal courts are also more likely to dismiss a case.
Both age discrimination and disability discrimination cases tend to fare well in court and especially in state court in New York. These cases often result in favorable verdicts because people can relate to them easily. Most people know that age discrimination happens and that older workers are often treated unfairly. Likewise, disability discrimination cases are also good because people generally do not want to see someone mistreated because they have an illness - the facts can be disturbing in these cases and can result in high verdicts. A disability discrimination case in Florida recently resulted in an $8 million verdict because the employer fired a woman while she was undergoing cancer treatment.
The report jury verdict trends for 2010 was prepared by Jury Verdict Research. I will post more information on these trends in the future.
