Section 30 Backpay

• Library: Employment Discrimination 2008

As a general rule, employees are entitled to backpay awards only if they were actually or constructively discharged. Major v. Rosenberg, 877 F.2d 694 (8^th Cir. 1989). But in two 2006 cases under § 1981, the plaintiff was awarded backpay without being actually or constructively discharged. In the first case, Ledbetter v. Alltel Corporate Services, Inc., 437 F.3d 717 (8^th Cir. 2006), the plaintiff, an African-American employee of Alltel, brought suit for race discrimination under Title VII and § 1981. The plaintiff had been named “acting” manager within his...