Age-Bias Lawsuits Are Costliest

The median jury verdict in age-discrimination lawsuits is $219,000. That's nearly 50% costlier than the typical median award of $147,799 for a race-discrimination lawsuit. Those numbers reflect a survey of verdicts compiled by Jury Verdict Research, Horsham, Pa., from a seven-year period ending in 1995. Median awards in sex- discrimination and disability-discrimination lawsuits are both around $100,000. Jury Verdict Research, a research and information services company, says about half the claims are won by plaintiffs -- except in the area of pregnancy discrimination, where plaintiffs win two-thirds of the cases.