OCTOBER TERM, 2000
Syllabus
certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the sixth circuit
No. 00-763. Argued April 23, 2001—Decided June 4, 2001
Petitioner Pollard sued respondent, her former employer, alleging that she had been subjected to a hostile work environment based on her sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Finding that Pollard was subjected to co-worker sexual harassment of which her supervisors were aware, and that the harassment resulted in a medical leave of absence for psychological assistance and her eventual dismissal for refusing to return to the same hostile work environment, the District Court awarded her, as relevant here, $300,000 in compensatory damages—the maximum permitted under 42 U. S. C. § 1981a(b)(3). The court observed that the award was insufficient to compensate Pollard, but was bound by an earlier Sixth Circuit holding that front pay—money awarded for lost compensation during the period between judgment and reinstatement or in lieu of reinstatement—was subject to the damages cap of § 1981a(b)(3). The Sixth Circuit affirmed.
Held: Front pay is not an element of compensatory damages under § 1981a and thus is not subject to the damages cap imposed by § 1981a(b)(3). Pp. 847-854.
(a) Under § 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as originally enacted, when a court found that an employer had intentionally engaged in an unlawful employment practice, the court was authorized to award such remedies as injunctions, reinstatement, backpay, and lost benefits. 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-5(g)(1). Because this provision closely tracked the language of § 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), § 10(c)'s meaning before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted provides guidance as to § 706(g)'s proper meaning. In applying § 10(c), the National Labor Relations Board consistently had made "backpay" awards up to the date the employee was reinstated or returned to the position he should have been in had the NLRA violation not occurred, even if such event occurred after judgment. Consistent with that interpretation, courts finding unlawful intentional discrimination in Title VII actions awarded this same type of backpay (known today as "front pay" when it occurs after the judgment) under § 706(g). After Congress expanded § 706(g)'s remedies in 1972 to include "any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate," courts endorsed a broad view of front pay, which included front pay awards made in lieu of reinstatement.
843
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