Slashed $366 Million Bias Verdict Shows Damage Cap Downsides

A recent decision cutting a former FedEx executive’s massive $366 million jury award to about $249,000 displays in stark terms how plaintiff payouts are hindered by a decades-old damages cap for a major civil rights law as well as contracts limiting when workers can sue.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit this month undid what may be the largest-ever jury verdict won by a worker suing for racial bias, awarded to a Black former executive of FedEx Corporate Services Inc. who sued the company for retaliation under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Section ...