07/31/2026
Another category of damages in employment disputes is what's known as compensatory damages — damages for mental anguish, pain, and suffering.
In the employment arena, these aren't always easy to recover. There's case law in Florida addressing situations where you simply testify at trial that the termination was upsetting, that you had trouble sleeping, or that you weren't able to move on well. That's referred to as "garden variety" compensatory damages, and some Florida appellate courts have capped garden variety damages somewhere in the range of roughly $15,000 to $40,000.
Punitive damages are even harder to recover, because they're ultimately a punishment. Under Florida law, punitive damages in an employment dispute are capped at $100,000. Under federal law, for something like Title VII, there's a combined cap between compensatory and punitive damages — for the largest employers that's $300,000, and for the smallest employers it's $50,000.
Jason D. Berkowitz — BT Law Group, PLLC
📞 (305) 507-8506
🌐 btattorneys.com
This does not constitute legal advice.
https://btattorneys.com/understanding-title-vii-civil-rights-act/
