July 2, 2007

By Jeffrey Lindemann

On June 26, the Sixth Circuit reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a $75,000 punitive damage award and reinstated the entire judgment in a sexual harassment case.  In the decision, the court ruled that the employer could not rely solely on its policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment to avoid punitive damages liability where one of the managers was “recklessly indifferent” to the plaintiff’s plight.