Employment Law Case of the Week

Recently in the case of Trinh v. Gentle Communications, LLC, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on the issue of punitive damages under the State's Fair Employment Practices Act.  It held that to assess punitive damages under M. G. L. c. 151B, § 9, the plaintiff must show that the complained-of behavior is not merely intentional and offensive. Rather, the conduct must be outrageous, because of the defendant's evil motive or his reckless indifference to the rights of others. The Court uses a three-part test to analyze the reasonableness of a punitive damages award, scrutinizing the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct, the ratio of the punitive damage award to the actual harm inflicted on the plaintiff, and a comparison of the punitive damages award and the civil or criminal penalties that could be imposed for comparable misconduct.

Updated on April 02, 2008