Linde Unit Gets $19 Million Cut to Worker Race Harassment Award

An American HomePatient Inc. Black worker saw her $20 million jury award cut to $1 million after a federal judge agreed the harassment was supported by the evidence, but the total punitive award was unconstitutional.

Requiring the Linde PLC subsidiary to pay more than $1 million for its intentional violation of the customer service representative’s rights under federal civil rights law would run afoul of the US Constitution, the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said.

Just some of the sub-factors used to evaluate the reprehensibility of an employer’s actions when analyzing the propriety of punitive damages ...