Business Services Industry

State raises bar on bias claims; Finding of pretext doesn't compel finding of discrimination.

Business Insurance, July, 2000 by PRINCE, MICHAEL

BOSTON -- A recent ruling by Massachusetts' highest court should make it easier for employers to defend themselves against job discrimination suits brought under the state's anti-discrimination statute. The July 14 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a plaintiff does not automatically win a discrimination verdict if a jury or court rejects the employer's stated pretext for firing as untrue.

The decision overturned a trial verdict that awarded the plaintiff, Viatcheslav Abramian, $522,136 in compensatory damages and $750,000 in punitive damages. The case, Abramian vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College, stemmed from Mr. Abramian's 1993 termination from his position as a security guard at Harvard College. Mr. Abramian sued...

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