![]() ![]() ![]() Availability of Emotional Distress Damages in Employment CasesĮmotional distress damages are available by statute for employment discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act Cal. This article will further discuss the importance of retaining an expert witness to evaluate the employee’s emotional distress and for both the expert witness and lay witnesses to testify about the employee’s emotional distress following the termination. This article will discuss the availability of emotional distress damages in employment cases, both those involving statutory and common law tortious discharge and those involving breach of an express or implied employment contract. It is, therefore, essential to obtain the contribution of a psychological expert to determine the meaning of work to the employee and to establish the impact of discharge on that particular employee. When an employee is suffering from the kinds of severe distress associated with such a traumatic event, reentering the job market can be a daunting prospect. He has found the degree of trauma associated with the wrongful loss of employment is often one of the top three most traumatic events these people have experienced in their life.įor these reasons, it is especially important to pursue emotional distress damages in employment cases, as the resulting distress from such an occurrence further affects the employee’s ability to mitigate their damages and to fully recover from the wrongful discharge. Loss of a job for these people may cause trauma equal to that experienced for any other major loss in life, such as the loss of a family member through death or divorce. Berg has interviewed thousands of employees, and in his experience, he has found that for many people work occupies a central role in their life, equal for some people to social and family relationships. Berg is a clinical psychologist based in Oakland and a certified expert witness in California Superior Courts for psychological evaluation in civil and criminal matters. When the loss of employment is coupled with unfair treatment, such as discrimination or a bad faith breach of an employment contract, the emotional distress suffered by the terminated employee is compounded by the injustice of the loss.ĭr. Loss of employment can be an especially traumatic event striking the core of who we see ourselves to be, and profoundly affecting our sense of self-worth and dignity. Walker and Gary Gwilliamįor many of us, our jobs play a central role in defining our identities. ![]()
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