KW Economics prepares employment damages analysis for wrongful termination cases venued in Maine: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Maine damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A wrongful termination analysis asks what the employee lost when the employment ended and how much of that loss has been or should be replaced by other work. The economist builds the but-for compensation path from the employment agreement, pay history, and the employer's pay and promotion practices, including the benefit and pension accruals that would have continued, and compares it with the replacement earnings actually received. Front pay is projected over the period the record supports for reaching comparable employment, pension and deferred compensation losses are calculated from the plan terms, equity losses from the award schedule, and the future components are discounted to present value.
Back pay, front pay, and lost benefits in discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage-and-hour matters. The analysis reconstructs what the employee would have earned in the position, including raises, bonuses, and benefit accruals, measures actual interim earnings, and evaluates mitigation and the period over which front pay is reasonable. In wage-and-hour matters the same records drive an hours and pay reconstruction for the individual claim or the class.
The most contested component is usually the front pay period, because the employee's age, occupation, and local market determine how quickly comparable work is reasonably available. For long-tenured employees, the loss of accrued pension benefits and retiree health coverage can rival the pay loss, and for employees with equity compensation the unvested awards forfeited at termination can be the largest single item. Where the employee found comparable work quickly, the claim may reduce to a documented back pay figure with small benefit differences.
Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record.
Highest court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Court system: courts.maine.gov.
Federal venues: District of Maine.
Maine reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share equals or exceeds the defendants'. Prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or the complaint in civil actions generally, liquidated or not, so the interval between filing and judgment is part of the economic picture. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and the report separates past from future amounts so the interest computation can follow.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing damages opinions, and updated calculations as the trial date moves.
A wrongful termination analysis asks what the employee lost when the employment ended and how much of that loss has been or should be replaced by other work. The economist builds the but-for compensation path from the employment agreement, pay history, and the employer's pay and promotion practices, including the benefit and pension accruals that would have continued, and compares it with the replacement earnings actually received. Front pay is projected over the period the record supports for reaching comparable employment, pension and deferred compensation losses are calculated from the plan terms, equity losses from the award schedule, and the future components are discounted to present value.
Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record. Wrongful Termination cases venued in Maine are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, jury trials in major criminal cases), with final appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Maine.
Maine reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share equals or exceeds the defendants'. Prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or the complaint in civil actions generally, liquidated or not, so the interval between filing and judgment is part of the economic picture. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and the report separates past from future amounts so the interest computation can follow. The report presents past and future amounts separately, states every rate and table with its source, and shows the result under the alternatives the other side is likely to argue, so counsel can apply the Maine rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Employment Damages or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.