What Damages Can I Sue For in a Wrongful Termination Case?

When you file a wrongful termination lawsuit, you aim to recover monetary compensation for losing your job. Compensatory damages can help you recover what you lost due to your employer’s illegal firing.

Damages in a wrongful termination case include lost wages, back pay, front pay, emotional distress, and punitive damages.

The legal remedies available can depend on where you live. To understand what your wrongful termination lawsuit is worth, talk to a local employment lawyer for legal advice.

Types of Damages in a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

Most private-sector employers can fire employees for just about any reason — as long as it’s not an illegal reason.

If an employer fires an employee in violation of the law or public policy, that employee can file a wrongful termination lawsuit to enforce their legal rights and get compensation. The main forms of compensation in a wrongful termination case are:

1. Economic damages
2. Non-economic damages
3. Punitive damages

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the out-of-pocket financial losses resulting from your wrongful termination. Common types of economic damages include:

• Lost income and back pay
• Front pay (until you can find a new job)
• Job search costs to find new employment
• Lost benefits (including stock options, retirement benefits, and health insurance)
• Medical expenses

To prove economic damages in a wrongful termination claim, you can use your prior pay stubs and tax returns to show how much you earned in your job and what you lost as a result. You can also show the value of lost benefits by showing what you paid for health insurance and the market cost of comparable benefits on the market.

For future damages, an economic expert witness can demonstrate the lost value to the jury. An expert witness is someone with specialized training, experience, and education. Your wrongful termination lawyer can use an economic expert to explain the long-term future value of lost compensation and loss of earning potential.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are awarded in wrongful termination lawsuits for non-monetary losses such as emotional distress or pain and suffering that many people experience following illegal termination.

“Non-economic damages would be for things like anxiety, depression, mood swings, or difficulty sleeping caused by the termination or illegal treatment at work,” says George Azadian, an employment litigation attorney at Azadian Law Group in Los Angeles, California.

“Assuming it’s a jury trial, the jury would decide whether to award these damages. The evidence that’s generally presented to prove emotional distress are things like the medical treatment the person had, any prescriptions they had to take for it, or negative changes in their life. In addition to taking the deposition of their medical providers, we retain experts who will administer certain testing to confirm those diagnoses. They can explain how the person’s life has changed as a result of the termination.”

Non-economic damages can be more difficult to prove than economic damages. “The jury has wide discretion in determining what is an appropriate amount of damages for emotional distress.”

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages punish the wrongdoer for their unlawful actions. They aim to make employers think twice before taking illegal action against employees in the future.

A judge or jury can impose punitive damages when the employer engaged in willful or wanton discrimination, intentionally caused the employee harm, or falsified documents to hide their unlawful actions.

Punitive damages are rare in wrongful termination cases. A wrongful termination lawyer can help you determine whether to claim punitive damages in your lawsuit.

Recovering Legal Fees

Some wrongful termination laws let the plaintiff recover the legal fees associated with filing a lawsuit.

Most wrongful termination lawyers charge attorney fees based on a contingency fee. This means you don’t pay for your legal representation up front. Your lawyer only gets paid based on a percentage of what you recover, minus additional expenses.

When your employer has to pay for your legal fees and court costs, you get more in compensation. Attorney fees are not available in all wrongful termination cases. Talk to your lawyer about whether you can sue for legal fees in your case.

Are There Caps on Damages?

Some states have a cap on certain types of damages. There is generally no cap for economic damages. However, some states limit what you can recover in non-economic damages. States may put a dollar amount cap on these damages or only allow a maximum percentage based on economic damages.

Damages caps vary by state law. “For example, there is no set cap in California as to what the damages are,” says Azadian. “That said, the damages really only come in three main forms: Lost wages, emotional distress damages, and punitive damages.”

A local employment lawyer can explain the damages available in your state to maximize your recovery after losing your job.

Non-Monetary Legal Remedies in a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

Many wrongful termination claims focus on the financial remedies available after losing your job. However, there are other non-financial damages available, including:

• Reinstatement to your prior job
• Promotion or advancement
• Increased salary
• Reinstatement of benefits
• Required sexual harassment or anti-discrimination training
• Required changes to an employer’s company policies

Non-financial remedies aren’t as common in wrongful termination cases. Wrongful termination generally involves a breakdown in the employer-employee relationship. Former employees often don’t want to return to that workplace.

However, if you do want non-financial remedies, talk to your employment law attorney about what you want to get out of taking legal action.

Getting a Wrongful Termination Settlement vs. Going to Court

Most wrongful termination lawsuits end with an out-of-court settlement. This may be a better option that going through the litigation process.

With a settlement, you get guaranteed compensation. Juries are unpredictable, and even if you have a strong case, a jury can find against you or only give you nominal damages. With a settlement, you know what you are getting without leaving it up to a jury.

Litigation is expensive and stressful. Avoiding a lawsuit can save you time and money. You can also avoid testifying about your distressing experience and questioning by your employer’s legal team.

Find Legal Help

The decision to settle your claim or take your case to court is up to you. Your attorney can offer legal advice, but it is your decision to accept a settlement.

For more information about what you can recover in a wrongful termination case and your full range of legal options, contact an experienced wrongful termination lawyer.