Benefits, job titles and evaluations all play important roles in state or city jobs. When a worker feels that employment discrimination in a Colorado city or state office has affected his or her benefits or resulted in unfair evaluations, that worker may be able to pursue legal support to rectify the situation. One city worker in another state has just recently been awarded millions after facing employment discrimination as an employee of that city’s treasury.
The case involved an African-American worker who is also of Haitian descent. She claims, amongst other things, that she was paid less and received fewer benefits than her peers. She also alleged that she was not given overtime pay and was told not to use her management title. She made one formal complaint years ago and suffered from poor evaluations from a superior as a result.
The complaint led to a jury awarding the worker $10 million in punitive damages. She also was awarded $500,000 for emotional distress, along with additional pay. A representative for the city has said that an appeal may be in order given that the alleged events occurred when another administration was in charge.
Employment discrimination is rarely a simple situation or based on a single event. Systematic mistreatment or illegal actions may have occurred over a long period of time. If an employee in any Colorado state or city office, or other place of employment, feels that he or she is suffering employment discrimination based on race, religion, age, disability or membership in another protected class, that employee may benefit from understanding the possible outcomes of filing an employment discrimination suit against his or her employer.
Source: The Boston Globe, “City employee awarded $10.9m in discrimination case”, John Hilliard, Oct. 24, 2015
