MADISON — Wisconsin workers who face discrimination on the job would no longer be able to sue their employers for damages in state civil court, if a recently introduced bill becomes law. The legislation, which received a hearing in the state Senate this week, would roll back measures passed by lawmakers in 2009 that allow employees who are victims of discrimination to seek up to $300,000 in damages in state court. Rep. Michelle Litjens, R-Vinland, the lead Assembly author of the legislation, said the measures enacted two years ago harm businesses.
"This is something that's affecting all the businesses of Wisconsin, and the larger you are, the more dollars are at stake," she said. But Gordon Leech, an attorney with the Consumer and Employment Law Center of Wisconsin, said that by eliminating the chance to sue for damages at the state level, the bill removes a powerful incentive that discourages employers from committing violations.
"It's removing the important protections and enforcement mechanisms ... (that protect) someone who is harmed by a violation of their civil rights," Leech said. Litjens said employees still could pursue damages in federal court, where the standards are higher than in state courts. "That has always been the case, and that will continue to be the case," she said. "But because what (the Legislature) did in 2009, we have employers writing checks to keep themselves out of court."
State law allows employees who allege workplace discrimination to seek reinstatement of their job, back pay and attorney fees, through a state administrative process. When that process is complete, the employees also can sue their employer in state court to receive compensatory and punitive damages. Leech said current law sets the bar high for employees seeking damages. Employees not only must prove that the employer violated their civil rights, but also that the act was "willful and wanton," meaning intended to cause harm. For example, if the owner of a company groped a female employee, she might win damages, Leech said.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20111024/GPG0101/110240517/Bill-could-restrict-punitive-damages-job-bias?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|GPG-News|s
We've got to get these assholes out of office.
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