Supervisors are Employees Too...to the Tune of $6.6 Million


What termination of a single employee can justify a $6.6 jury award?  (The punitives award was reduced by the lower court from $15.9 million. The employee also received $2.2 million in non-punitive damages). According to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court for western states including California, the following elements justify a lower court jury’s award in this amount:

The appeals court’s decision can be found here. This case entailed some unique aspects of California law, and of course every situation is unique, but it does underscore not only that supervisors have employment rights, but that the stakes are higher when terminating supervisors. Their wages and therefore potential damages are higher, but in addition their termination usually gets into higher approval levels for which juries will attribute greater company responsibility. Virtually any termination should include at least a base touch with counsel.  A potential whistleblower and/or retaliation scenario involving a supervisor are facts that call for the utmost care and consultation prior to the decision.


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National Law Review, Volume V, Number 119