Much Pain, a Lot of Gain in EEOC Awards

Law.com
EEOC awards for pain and suffering have reached an all-time high.
Jenna Greene
The National Law Journal
November 29, 2011

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission feels federal workers' pain — and will pay them for it.
A review of commission decisions during the past decade shows an uptick in awards for emotional distress. In fiscal year 2011, the agency awarded discrimination victims an average of $106,000 for emotional pain and suffering, an all-time high. Five years ago, the average award was $84,477, according to the EEOC, and in 2002, it was $67,484.
The EEOC is tasked with reviewing appeals from federal workers who allege that they suffered discrimination in their government workplaces. The agency on appeal has often unilaterally increased workers' original emotional-distress awards, sometimes substantially. A fired U.S. Postal Service worker who lost custody of his daughter and was reduced to sleeping in his car, for example, was originally awarded $15,000 for emotional distress. The EEOC in 2010 increased the amount his agency must pay him 11-fold to $165,000.

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