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Mlsna, Mark v. Union Pacific Railroad

W.D. Wis.July 12, 2023No. 3:18-cv-00037
Plaintiff WinUnion Pacific Railroad Company$2,990,149.96 awarded
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Case Details

Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
Civil Rights: Americans with Disabilities - Employment
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Unknown
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
jury verdict

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

DiscriminationFailure to Accommodate

Outcome

Plaintiff prevailed at jury trial on ADA disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims against Union Pacific Railroad. Jury awarded $3.67M in compensatory damages and $40.3M in punitive damages; court reduced compensatory damages to $300,000 under statutory caps and vacated punitive damages, entering final judgment of $1,666,469.90 plus $1,323,680.06 in attorney fees and costs.

What This Ruling Means

**Railroad Worker's Disability Discrimination Case Against Union Pacific** Mark Mlsna, an employee of Union Pacific Railroad, filed a lawsuit claiming the company discriminated against him because of his disability. The case was brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities and prohibits discrimination based on disability status. Unfortunately, the court's final decision in this case is not available from the provided information. The case was filed in federal court in July 2023, but the outcome remains unclear. No damages amounts have been reported at this time. **What This Means for Workers:** This case highlights an important right that all workers have under federal law. The ADA protects employees from being treated unfairly because of disabilities and requires employers to make reasonable changes to help disabled workers do their jobs effectively. If you believe you've faced disability discrimination at work, you have the legal right to file a complaint. Railroad workers, like those in other industries, are covered by these protections. Even though we don't know how this specific case ended, it demonstrates that workers can challenge large employers when they believe their disability rights have been violated.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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