A settlement has been reached following a race-discrimination verdict in favor of Jim Garrity’s client The deal required the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) to pay a total of $692,000. It is a spectacular and just ending.
To quote Jim’s favorite sayings, “You have the power, at any given moment, to say, this is not going to be how my story ends.” His work here powerfully reinforces that truth, and shows the power of the judicial system to undo the impact of job-related discrimination.
Garrity won a $284,000 verdict on behalf of the client, who worked on a DOT road crew. Our lawsuit alleged that the client had been wrongfully fired because he was black. The jury agreed and ruled in his favor.
After the verdict, Jim continued to fight for him and, in addition to the jury award, further asked the federal judge to order DOT to immediately rehire our client. And the judge did so. Federal judges have tremendous power, and that power includes the authority to order employers to rehire employees who’ve been wrongfully fired.
With the agreement of all parties, Jim finalized a deal requiring DOT to directly pay our client an additional $186,000. 00. In exchange, the client agreed not to return to work – to give up his right to reinstatement. This raised the client’s outcome to $470,000.00, which is far beyond his actual losses.
Best of all, every penny of that goes to our client.
The reason? As part of the agreement, Garrity also demanded that DOT pay our attorneys’ fees and costs, which totaled $222,000 through the end of the case. That brought the total settlement to $692,000.00.
The moral of the story? You can fight discrimination. You can beat it. And you can come out on top.
If you’ve been the victim of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, it’s time to fight back.
Categories: Race Discrimination
Jim Garrity, Esq. - Employee Rights Lawyer 
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