Salveson v. Douglas County

• Decision Date: 10 July 2001
• Docket Number: No. 99-0946.,99-0946.
• Citation: 630 N.W.2d 182,2001 WI 100,245 Wis.2d 497
• Parties: Linda Margaret SALVESON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. DOUGLAS COUNTY and Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation, Defendants-Appellants-Petitioners.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

245 Wis.2d 497

2001 WI 100

630 N.W.2d 182

Linda Margaret SALVESON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. DOUGLAS COUNTY and Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation, Defendants-Appellants-Petitioners.

No. 99-0946.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Oral argument April 11, 2001.

Decided July 10, 2001.

For the defendants-appellants-petitioners there were briefs by John J. Prentice, Andrew T. Phillips and Prentice & Phillips, Milwaukee, and oral argument by Andrew T. Phillips and John J. Prentice.

For the plaintiff-respondent there was a brief by Kyle H. Torvinen and Hendricks, Knudson, Gee, Hayden, Torvinen & Weiby, S.C., Superior, and oral argument by Kyle H. Torvinen.

¶ 1. DAVID T. PROSSER, J.

Linda Salveson was employed by Douglas County from 1981 until 1995. In 1996, she filed suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e to e-17 (1994) (Title VII),¹ alleging that she had been subjected to illegal sexual harassment and gender discrimination virtually the entire time of her service with the County. The perpetrator of the harassment and discrimination was Richard Collyard, Salveson's supervisor at the Douglas County Ambulance Service.

¶ 2. On August 14, 1998, after a weeklong trial, a Douglas County jury awarded Salveson $356,220 in damages. The Douglas County Circuit Court, Michael T. Lucci, Judge, denied the County's post-trial motion to reduce the award to $200,000 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3), a provision that limits awards of compensatory and punitive damages based upon the number of persons employed by the employer. However, the court reduced the award to $300,000, plus $1,220 for past medical expenses. As to "equitable remedies" that were left to the court to determine separately, Judge Lucci awarded Salveson back pay, front pay, attorney fees, interest, and costs totaling $254,559.07, bringing the total judgment to $555,779.07.

¶ 3. Douglas County appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed. Salveson v. Douglas County, 2000 WI App 80, 234 Wis. 2d 413, 610 N.W.2d 184. ¶ 4. On review, the following issues are presented:

(1) Did the circuit court err in awarding Linda Salveson back pay, notwithstanding her vocational disability?

(2) Did the circuit court err in awarding Salveson front pay, notwithstanding her vocational disability?

(3) Did the circuit court err in declining to offset the awards of back pay and front pay by the amount of the disability benefits received by Salveson?

(4) Did the circuit court err in determining that Salveson's award of front pay is not subject to the damages cap imposed by 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3), which limits compensatory and punitive damages?

(5) Did the circuit court err in determining that for purposes of the damages cap, the number of persons employed by Douglas County should be measured at the time the discrimination occurred, rather than at the time of the judgment awarding Salveson damages?

¶ 5. We conclude that the circuit court properly exercised its discretion in awarding back pay and front pay, and in declining to offset the awards by the disability benefits Salveson also received. We further conclude that the circuit court correctly determined that front pay does not fall under compensatory or punitive damages and therefore is not subject to the damages cap, and properly measured the number of employees at the time the discrimination occurred. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

I. BACKGROUND

¶ 6. Linda Salveson began work as a part-time employee with the Douglas County Ambulance Service in 1981. Over the next 14 years, she enhanced her professional credentials, moving from a certified nurse's assistant, to a licensed practical nurse, to an emergency medical technician, to a nationally registered paramedic. In 1986, she was given a full-time position with the County, but only after she challenged a maneuver to deny her the promotion.

¶ 7. During her employment with the County ambulance service, Salveson was subjected to crude sexual harassment and discrimination by her supervisor, Richard Collyard. The long litany of epithets, insults, abuses, actions, and discrimination which she endured eventually led to serious psychological problems affecting Salveson's future employment. The County concedes that Collyard's conduct toward Salveson was "abhorrent." It is less forthcoming about its failure to take remedial action

¶ 8. On December 24, 1993, Salveson injured her knee while at work. The County describes her injury as "wholly unrelated to unlawful discriminatory conduct." Salveson's testimony at trial, undisputed by the County or any witness at trial, tells a different story. On the day before Christmas, Collyard brought his personal tractor to work, intending that work be done on it on County time. The tractor was transported on a single-axle trailer. Collyard insisted that Salveson assist him in attaching a particular part to the tractor. Although she resisted, Salveson did not feel she had any choice but to comply. Salveson was unable to attach the part without climbing onto the tractor, so she asked Collyard to stabilize the trailer, and he assured her he would. After she climbed onto the trailer, however, Collyard walked to the back of the trailer, and the trailer tipped. The tractor moved off of the trailer into Salveson's legs, pinning her knee against the trailer. Salveson was suspended in the air and had to be helped down.

¶ 9. As a result of this incident, Salveson suffered a knee injury and later required knee surgery. This permanent knee injury ultimately led to Salveson's referral for duty disability benefits in 1995. Meanwhile, Collyard told others Salveson had injured the knee skiing.

¶ 10. After the knee operation, Salveson was put on light duty, working in an office capacity. Salveson testified at trial that while on light duty, she was in closer contact with Collyard and his harassment intensified. She returned to her paramedic work in December 1994, but hurt her back in a fall in April 1995. She was again put on light duty, consisting primarily of clerical work. She also began to work part-time for a hospital as a licensed practical nurse. When Salveson began working light duty in April 1995, her wages were inexplicably and improperly reduced from $10.21 per hour to $4.25 per hour. Salveson did not receive her full pay until months later. On September 27, 1995, she was transferred to the Douglas County Register of Deeds, where she worked for the remainder of her employment with Douglas County.

¶ 11. Salveson initially filed a complaint with the Douglas County Harassment and Discrimination Committee in November 1994. Harassment investigators found "a systematic pattern of harassment" by Salveson's department head, Collyard. The investigators reported their findings to the County's personnel director, but he did nothing and later testified that Collyard, a personal friend, was never disciplined for his behavior.

¶ 12. Salveson filed complaints with both the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations (DILHR), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging unlawful employment discrimination and sexual harassment. On October 31, 1995, DILHR made an initial determination of "probable cause to believe County of Douglas Ambulance Dept. violated the Wisconsin Fair Employment Law ... by: discriminating against [Salveson] in terms or conditions of employment because of sex." DILHR certified the need for a hearing on the matter.

¶ 13. Salveson left her job as an LPN in August 1995. In November 1995 she was granted a disability pension due to her back and knee injuries, and terminated her employment with Douglas County.

¶ 14. On January 1, 1996, Gold Cross Ambulance took over the operations of the Douglas County Ambulance Service, and Collyard began to work for Gold Cross. His presence with the company made it impossible for Salveson to seek employment with the new operation.

¶ 15. On March 21, 1996, the EEOC granted Salveson permission to sue Douglas County and Collyard for alleged violations of Title VII and of 42 U.S.C. §§ 12102-12213, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Salveson brought a lawsuit against Douglas County and Collyard on June 17, 1996, alleging violations and seeking damages under Title VII as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981a. She also raised numerous other claims.² ¶ 16. Salveson went to trial on her Title VII and ADA claims in 1998.³ She testified that Collyard and Douglas County had sexually harassed her and discriminated against her because of her gender. Dr. Ken Pride, a psychologist who had treated Salveson, testified that Salveson suffered from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. He stated that these conditions were caused at least in part by her "hostile" work environment, and opined that she would be unable to work full-time for three years. Collyard did not testify at the trial.

¶ 17. At the end of the trial, the jury rendered a verdict finding that Douglas County, by its employees, had: discriminated against Salveson, subjected her to sexual harassment, retaliated against her, discriminated against her on the basis of her disability, and by doing these things, caused her injury. The jury awarded Salveson $1,220 for past medical expenses, $15,000 for future medical expenses, $40,000 for future loss of earning capacity, $200,000 for past pain and suffering, and $100,000 for future pain and suffering, for a total of $356,220.

¶ 18. The County filed post-verdict motions, claiming that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support the awards of damages, and that the total damages awarded should be reduced to $200,000 pursuant to the damages limitation (damages cap) imposed by 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3), the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Under the damages cap, the sum of compensatory and punitive damages is limited based on the number of persons employed by...