Employment Discrimination Economic Damages Expert in Florida

By Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA, Chief of Economic Services · Published · Reviewed

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for employment discrimination cases venued in Florida: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Florida's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

An employment discrimination economic claim measures the gap between the compensation the employee would have received absent the adverse action and the compensation actually received, as back pay, front pay, and lost benefits net of mitigation. Read the full employment discrimination analysis guide.

Florida courts and expert standards

Florida courts apply a reliability inquiry to expert testimony: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and on reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the facts of the case. A damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to a published source.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Florida Supreme Court. Federal venues: N.D. Fla., M.D. Fla., S.D. Fla. Court system: flcourts.gov.

Damages framework

Florida reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and, in most negligence actions, bars recovery once the plaintiff is found more at fault than the defendants. Prejudgment interest is awarded on a liquidated loss from the date it was sustained but is generally not awarded on personal injury or wrongful death damages. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the report separates the liquidated components from the projected ones so the interest computation can follow.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to an employment discrimination case venued in Florida; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Reconstruct the but-for compensation path from the employee's history and the employer's pay practices, including raises, bonus patterns, and benefit accruals.
  2. Compare that path with actual post-action earnings year by year, crediting mitigation from the employee's records or from local wage and unemployment duration data.
  3. Project front pay over the period the record supports for reaching comparable employment, with the loss shown at alternative durations.
  4. Separate back pay, front pay, and benefits, discount the future amounts to present value, and supply the schedule counsel needs for prejudgment interest.

Attorney guides for employment discrimination cases

Other case types in Florida

Frequently asked: employment discrimination cases in Florida

Which Florida courts hear employment discrimination cases?

Employment Discrimination cases venued in Florida are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, family law, probate). Final appeals run to the Florida Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, and Southern District of Florida.

How does Florida's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

Florida reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and, in most negligence actions, bars recovery once the plaintiff is found more at fault than the defendants. Prejudgment interest is awarded on a liquidated loss from the date it was sustained but is generally not awarded on personal injury or wrongful death damages. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the report separates the liquidated components from the projected ones so the interest computation can follow. Florida courts apply a reliability inquiry to expert testimony: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and on reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the facts of the case. A damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to a published source.

More questions about employment discrimination analysis

References

Request a consultation on employment discrimination cases in Florida or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.