DeRoche v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

**DeRoche v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination** This case involved a worker who claimed his employer, the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department, discriminated against him based on his age and then retaliated against him for complaining about it. The worker filed complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which investigated and ruled in his favor. The court largely upheld the commission's decision, agreeing that the employer had retaliated against the worker for filing discrimination complaints. The worker was awarded over $258,000 in total damages, including back pay (wages he lost) and front pay (future lost earnings). However, the court eliminated the emotional distress damages that had been included in the original award. The court also ordered that interest be added to the back pay and front pay awards to account for the time that had passed. The case was sent back to determine attorney's fees for the parts of the appeal where the worker won. This ruling reinforces that workers are protected from retaliation when they file discrimination complaints. Employers cannot punish employees for speaking up about workplace discrimination, and workers who face retaliation can recover significant financial damages for their losses.