McAfee & Taft labor and employment attorney Sam Fulkerson was featured in The Oklahoman discussing significant changes to the Oklahoma Anti-Discrimination Act brought about by Senate Bill 837. The amended act, which was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin on May 18 and goes into effect on November 1 of this year, prohibits employer discrimination based on traditional protected classifications such as race, color, national origin, sex, religion, creed, age, disability or genetic information. According to Fulkerson, the most significant change is that the act will now become the exclusive remedy for persons alleging discrimination in employment and related retaliation claims.
Previously, employees alleging employment discrimination could bring “common law claims” which are much broader and allow significant damages, including punitive damages and emotional distress, in unlimited amounts. Such claims, he explained, had the potential to be ruinous to smaller employers. “Just the mere potential for such damages put pressure on smaller employers to settle employment discrimination lawsuits even when there was no merit to them. In other words, Oklahoma law had developed to the point that employers routinely settled meritless claims because of the defense of defending them and the potential threat of an emotional jury verdict that could drive them out of business,” said Fulkerson.
Under the new law, claims for punitive damages and emotional distress will not be allowed, and damages for successful claimants will be limited to economic losses and liquidated damages only. Fulkerson explained that this major change to the law will make it possible for smaller employers, especially companies and organizations with fewer financial resources, to defend themselves when they know they have not been in violation of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
He went on to say that the revised law still provides for a private claim against employers who violate the law. In addition, individuals employed by organizations with 15 or more persons can still sue for employment discrimination in federal court. Federal laws, however, limit the amount a successful claimant can recover in punitive damages as well as emotional distress.
McAfee & Taft’s labor and employment attorneys, led by Sam Fulkerson, played a major role in assisting The State Chamber of Oklahoma in revising the Oklahoma Anti-Discrimination Act and championing the bill through the legislative process.
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