DOLLAR GENERAL PARTNERS V. UPCHURCH
Workers Compensation: Retaliatory firing, pretext, punitives, directed verdict
2005-CA-001703
PUBLISHED: AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART, AND REMANDING (PAISLEY)
DATE RENDERED: 11/3/2006
This case contains a law review of retaliatory discharge for filing a workers’ compensation law. The Court affirmed the verdict, except reversed the major amount of the verdict ($250,000) in future lost earnings or “front pay”, holding that it could not be claimed because the plaintiff voluntarily removed himself from the work force by pursuing higher education. The statute only allows actual damages, so punitives were not allowed, but that was not part of the verdict. No mention of the attorney’s fees that can be claimed under the statute.
