How much an employment lawsuit is worth depends on several factors, such as the type of lawsuit, the amount of money involved, the strength of the evidence, and the severity of the violation. An attorney can help you determine how much your specific case might be worth.
Employment lawsuits can be valued in the tens of thousands, but it can take substantial time to resolve and have the funds hit your bank account. If you need money for necessities in the meantime, you can consider employment lawsuit pre-settlement funding as an alternative to onerous and risky lawsuit loans.
Common Types of Employment Lawsuits
Several types of workplace injustices could justify filing a lawsuit against an employer. Below are some of the most common types of employment lawsuits and what they entail:
- Harassment. Harassment is creating a hostile work environment through making offensive remarks or unwelcome sexual advances.
- Discrimination. Employers are guilty of discrimination when they treat employees unfairly due to race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
- Wrongful termination. You can bring a wrongful termination lawsuit if your employer fires you for an unlawful reason, like retaliation or discrimination.
- Wage disputes. Wage disputes occur when an employer unlawfully withholds wages or refuses to provide rightful benefits.
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Factors that Impact the Value of an Employment Lawsuit
When you file an employment lawsuit and receive a judgment, you will receive a settlement consisting of monetary compensation. It is impossible to say beforehand how much any given lawsuit is worth, as it’s so dependent on the specific circumstances. Factors that influence how much an employment lawsuit is worth include the following:
Amount of Lost Work Income
A primary determinant of an employment lawsuit’s value is the amount of lost work income under consideration. Lost work income can include any withheld wages from time worked and other forms of due compensation, like salary, commissions, or tips.
Lost income can also include money from missed promotions and opportunities. For instance, if you proved your employer passed you over for a promotion due to your age, you could sue for the difference in earnings that the higher position would have granted.
Severity of Emotional Distress
The value of an employment lawsuit also depends on the magnitude of the emotional distress and harm the wrongful conduct caused. This can include any physical conditions caused by the psychological stress or anguish experienced.
In general, to prove emotional distress, you must show a negative impact on your psychological well-being due to the employment issue. Relevant proof could include mental health diagnoses, counseling notes, and evaluations by mental health professionals.
Punitive Damages
In some cases, the offender might display particularly egregious conduct that warrants imposing punitive damages. These are damages that the offender pays the victim as punishment for their wrongful conduct.
For example, if an employer is found to have a repeated behavior of racially discriminating against employees, a court might impose punitive damages to deter future bad behavior. Punitive damages are usually calculated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the employer’s conduct.
Attorney Fees and Other Costs
In addition to the above, the value of an employment lawsuit will include money for any attorney fees and other costs, like court filing fees.
Special Considerations for Employment Lawsuit Damages
Each state has different laws concerning employment disputes and lawsuits. Additionally, the various types of employment lawsuits may be subject to different conditions. Below are some special considerations that impact how much an employment lawsuit is worth.
Non-Allowable Damages
Some types of employment lawsuits have limits on the kind of damages you can recover. The lawsuit may only allow for the recovery of economic damages (e.g., lost work income) and not allow non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
For instance, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) doesn’t allow victims to sue for pain and suffering for age discrimination. However, individual states, like California, may have laws allowing pain and suffering damages in age discrimination lawsuits.
Damage Multipliers
Some states have “liquidated damages” rules that effectively multiply the amount of lost work income compensation the plaintiff in an employment lawsuit will receive. For instance, employment laws in New York City can require employers to pay up to 300% the value of lost wages for willful wage violations, effectively tripling the award the plaintiff receives.
Statutory Caps
Some laws have statutory caps that set a maximum amount of damages you can receive for an employment lawsuit. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) limits the total amount of non-economic and punitive damages one can receive for disability discrimination to $300,000. Other states might cap the amount of pain and suffering damages one can receive.
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Pegasus Legal Capital: Pre-Settlement Legal Funding for Employment Lawsuits
No matter how much an employment lawsuit is worth, it doesn’t matter if you are still months or even years from resolution and getting your payments. Pegasus Legal Capital offers non-recourse cash advance legal funding to help you pay for necessities in the short term, giving you peace of mind while waiting on your settlement.
Do you have questions to ask about legal funding? If so, contact us today to speak to a team representative about our pre-settlement legal funding alternatives to employment lawsuit loans.
Your pre-settlement funding consultation is free — contact us today!