Finish Line Worker’s Teen Rape Claims Back Punitive Damages Bid

A Finish Line Inc. employee who allegedly hired and then raped a teenage employee may have been in “upper management,” which could make the company liable for punitive damages for his alleged actions, a New Jersey federal court ruled.

An employer’s “second line of management” can be upper management under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination if they have broad supervisory powers, including the authority to hire and fire workers, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey said. The primary question is whether an employee in the second line of management controlled the employer’s day-to-day operations, it said. ...