A North Carolina construction worker who was punched and fired after complaining about his supervisor being intoxicated at a job site has reportedly been awarded $1 million in damages and legal costs.
Justin Driskell's termination was ruled to be in violation of the state's Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) and a wrongful discharge in violation of North Carolina common law by a federal appeals court, Insurance Journal reports.
In the case of Justin Driskell v. Summit Contracting, Driskell alleged he was fired by Summit Contracting because of complaints regarding his supervisor, Daniel Rhyner, frequently returning to the construction site drunk and a specific incident in which Rhyner attacked him. He added that his employer believed he would file a workers' compensation claim due to injuries sustained from the fight antagonized by his boss.
Driskell reported Rhyner in June and July 2015 after noticing that his supervisor frequently drank alcohol at lunch and returned to the site intoxicated, occasionally acting beligerent. During one incident, Rhyner brandished a handgun while drunk and Summit's policies prohibit visiting a job site both while drunk or carrying a firearm.
Driskell reported Rhyner's drinking to senior employees several times, complaining that it was a safety issue during his first week at a project in Charlotte. During one incident, Rhyner followed Driskell after an argument and punched him in the face repeatedly.
According to the case, Driskell didn't throw a punch, but was wrestled Rhyner and put him in a headlock. Neither man was seriously injured, although Rhyner reportedly wore a neck brace for two weeks.
Rhyner told Driskell, "You're Fired," during the fight, although a CEO confirmed that Rhyner didn't have the authority to make that decision. Driskell decided to file a criminal complaint against Rhyner at the discouragement of the CEO, which led to Rhyner being charged with assault.
An email was sent out by the company's chief administrative officer the following day claiming Driskell and his father, who also worked for the company, were "plotting a bogus lawsuit" with "the intent ton screw" the company out of $5 million. No Summit employee -- excluding the previous incident with Rhyner during the fight -- ever told Driskell he was fired, but his company-issued phone and iPad were deactivated and he never received a response from the company for repeated calls and texts.
A Western North Carolina district jury sided with Driskell, but the court gave him the option between $250,000 in punitive damages (reduced from the jury award of $681,000) or $441,600 for attorney's fees, but not both due to state law prohibiting duplicative rewards. Driskell also received $65,000 in compensation for lost wages.
Driskell chose to forgo punitive damages, receiving $195,000 in trebled compensatory damages and $441,600 in attorney's fees, Insurance Journal reports. Both parties appealed and the case was taken to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, which rejected Summit's arguments for judgment and its defense that Driskell was fired for a legitimate business reason.
The court found that evidence showed Summit both violated REDA and common law in its termination of Driskell, while also acting with malice toward him. It also found evidence that Summit had shown hostility toward other workplace safety reports and workers' compensation claims made by employees.
The appeals court also partially reversed the district court's decision, ruling that Driskell was owed untrebled lost wages of $65,000, as well as both the jury's original $681,000 reward in punitive damages on the wrongful-discharge claim and $441,600 in attorney's fees on the REDA claim.