Maine Employment Lawyer Blog
Yesterday, the Maine Employee Rights Group (“MERG”) secured another victory for our client in a federal case against Woodlands Senior Living of Brewer (“Woodlands”). As we previously reported, a Bangor jury found that Woodlands unlawfully discriminated against our client because she needed medical leave for a disability. The jury awarded our client $15,000 in back pay and, yesterday, the judge awarded our client an additional $15,000 plus interest (for a total of $30,000 plus interest) because Woodlands failed to prove that it acted in good faith when it violated our client’s rights.
In addition to awarding our client another $15,000, plus interest, the judge ordered Woodlands to change our client’s personnel records so that they indicate that Woodlands unlawfully terminated her for discriminatory reasons. The judge also ordered Woodlands to submit documentation proving that it trained its managers on the law and Woodlands’ policies regarding disability discrimination and employee family medical leave entitlements.
Because MERG prevailed in this case, Woodlands will also be required to pay attorney fees to MERG for our work on this case. The court has not yet issued a ruling on the amount of attorney fees that Woodlands will have to pay MERG.