Employment discrimination settlements don't use the injury multiplier method — they follow a statutory structure that depends on which law applies. Back pay and front pay are never capped. Compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII and the ADA are capped by employer size (42 U.S.C. § 1981a), fixed at 1991 levels. The ADEA (age discrimination) has no compensatory/punitive damages at all — it uses back pay plus liquidated damages for willful violations. California's FEHA has no cap on any damages. Select your law type below to apply the right formula.
This tool splits your estimate into two buckets: an uncapped bucket (back pay and front pay, never subject to any statutory cap) and a capped bucket (compensatory + punitive damages, which the law limits depending on which statute applies and, for Title VII/ADA claims, employer size). The two buckets are calculated separately and added together — the cap never applies to the total.
| Employees | Title VII / ADA cap (compensatory + punitive combined) |
|---|---|
| 15–100 | $50,000 |
| 101–200 | $100,000 |
| 201–500 | $200,000 |
| 501–+ | $300,000 |
Caps fixed by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 — never indexed for inflation. Source: 42 U.S.C. § 1981a.
No. Title VII (race, sex, religion, national origin) and the ADA (disability) share the same compensatory + punitive damages caps under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a, from $50,000 to $300,000 depending on employer size. The ADEA (age discrimination) doesn't use these caps at all — it has no compensatory or punitive damages, only back pay and liquidated damages. California FEHA claims have no statutory cap.
No. The § 1981a cap covers only compensatory (e.g. emotional distress) and punitive damages combined. Back pay is equitable relief under Title VII itself, and the Supreme Court held in Pollard v. E.I. du Pont (2001) that front pay is not part of the capped damages either — both are uncapped, on top of whatever the capped bucket totals.
No. Punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a are unavailable against public/government employers, regardless of employer size. Compensatory damages and back/front pay remain available.
No. The caps were set in the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and have never been indexed for inflation — $300,000 in 1991 has roughly half the purchasing power today.
The ADEA doesn't provide compensatory or punitive damages at all. Instead, a plaintiff can recover back pay, front pay, and — if the violation was willful — liquidated damages equal to the back pay amount (effectively doubling it).