Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in New York

Re: What should I do?

Your fiancee's compensation is related solely to the amount of compensatory damages she would be entitled to. Federal law, however, permits punitive damages to be awarded even in the absence of any compensatory damages. Therefore, how much you fiancee was making should not be the end of the analysis as to whether she has a claim.

I would be happy to discuss this with you further.

Re: What should I do?

You can always get a "second opinion."

Re: What should I do?

Hi--I am Chris Edelson, an attorney working with Brendan Chao--he received your email but is in a meeting, and asked me to reply to your question.

There are two separate issues to consider: (1) whether your fiancee has a legal basis for claiming sexual harassment and (2) if she has a case, what damages she could recover. The first issue depends on exactly what happened--who harassed her (was it a suypervisor?), how often did the harassment occur, were there witnesses, what exactly did the harassment consist of, did your fiancee report the harassment to anyone at her company and, if so, how did the company respond, how did the harassment affect her work on a daily basis (apart from forcing her to resign).

The second issue is a separate question--you can have a case but only recover a relatively small amount of damages. In discrimination cases, there are several types of possible damages: (1) back and front pay and benefits (this is compensation for lost wages and benefits--for example, if someone is fired because of discrimination and does not find a job for 6 months, they may be able to recover damages for lost wages and benefits during that 6 month period); (2) compensatory damages for emotional pain and suffering; and (3) punitive damages (these are rare and awarded only in special circumstances). Because your fiancee resigned, it is possible she will not be able to recover for lost wages and benefits--this will depend on whether she can show that any reasonable person in her position would also have resigned. Legally, this is not an easy task, but also not impossible. As for compensatory and punitive damages, these are potentially available without regard to the fact that she resigned. However, these damages are not awarded in all cases and even when they are awarded are often for relatively small amounts (often $50,000 or less, not infrequently for $10,000 or less). One final point is that, if the case went all the way to trial and your fiancee won a jury verdict, she would also receive reimbursement for reasonable attorneys' fees.

I am glad to discuss this matter further and will not charge any fee for an initial phone call--if you are interested, please call me (Chris Edelson) at 212 867-4754, or you can try my colleague, Brendan Chao, at 212 867-4753.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck,

Chris Edelson