Figueroa v. Gannett Company Incorporated
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
- State
- Arizona
- Circuit
- Ninth Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Plaintiff won her ADA disability discrimination claim at trial, securing back pay of $93,457.04 plus $300,000 in combined compensatory and punitive damages (reduced from a $3,975,000 jury award due to statutory cap under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a).
What This Ruling Means
Figueroa v. Gannett Company Incorporated Summary
What Happened
A worker filed a lawsuit against Gannett Company, claiming she was discriminated against because of a disability. She also alleged that the company failed to make reasonable adjustments to help her work and wrongfully fired her.
What the Court Decided
The court ruled in the worker's favor. The jury originally awarded her nearly $4 million in damages, but a federal law cap reduced the total to $393,457.04. This included $93,457.04 in back pay (wages she missed) and $300,000 in additional damages for harm and punishment.
Why This Matters for Workers
This case demonstrates that employers must comply with disability laws and can face serious financial consequences for failing to do so. Companies cannot ignore requests for workplace accommodations or fire employees because of disabilities. Even when damages are reduced by law, significant payouts signal that courts take disability discrimination seriously and will protect workers' rights.
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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