Cite as: 532 U. S. 843 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
Raymond Michael Ripple argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Donna L. Goodman.*
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents the question whether a front pay award is an element of compensatory damages under the Civil Rights Act of 1991. We conclude that it is not.
I
Petitioner Sharon Pollard sued her former employer, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), 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, 78 Stat. 253, 42 U. S. C. § 2000e et seq. After a trial, the District Court found that Pollard was subjected to coworker sexual harassment of which her supervisors were aware. The District Court further found that the harassment resulted in a medical leave of absence from her job for psychological assistance and her eventual dismissal for refusing to return to the same hostile work environment. The court awarded Pollard $107,364 in backpay and benefits, $252,997 in attorney's fees, and, as relevant here, $300,000 in compensatory damages—the maximum permitted under the statutory cap for such damages in 42 U. S. C. § 1981a(b)(3).
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law et al. by Richard M. Wyner, Matthew M. Hoffman, Charles T. Lester, Jr., John Payton, Norman Redlich, Barbara R. Arnwine, Thomas J. Henderson, Steven R. Shapiro, Lenora M. Lapidus, Sara L. Mandelbaum, Marcia D. Greenberger, Judith L. Lichtman, Donna R. Lenhoff, Martha F. Davis, Karen K. Narasaki, Vincent A. Eng, Mark D. Roth, and Laurie A. McCann; and for the National Employment Lawyers Association et al. by Woodley B. Osborne, H. Candace Gorman, and Paula A. Brantner.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the Equal Employment Advisory Council et al. by Robert E. Williams, Ann Elizabeth Reesman, Stephen A. Bokat, and Robin S. Conrad; and for the Society for Human Resource Management by Paul Salvatore.
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