Your Costa Mesa employment attorney can provide details about the subject areas that will likely come up during depositions. One of the areas where you may receive extensive questions is the issue of damages.

Types of Damages

Your Costa Mesa employment attorney can explain that damages in an employment lawsuit are generally comprised of lost wages, lost benefits and, possibly, emotional distress. Lost wages may be easier to prove than other forms of damages especially if the employee is paid an hourly rate and works a regular schedule.

Computation of Lost Wages If Unemployed

A Costa Mesa employment lawyer can compute your lost wages by taking your weekly pay and multiplying it by the number of weeks since the individual was terminated. For example, you may earn $1,000 each week. You were terminated 30 weeks ago. Although you have tried to find alternative employment, you have not procured a new job. Your lost wages would then equal $30,000.

Computing Damages If You Are Employed

If you have found a job since you were terminated by your former employer, you can still receive lost wages damages based on the difference between what you would have received in wages if not for the wrongful termination. Simply subtract the wages you have received since termination from your previous employer. For example, if you were making $1,000 before you were terminated and you have been out of your employment for 30 weeks but you got a new job immediately at $500 each week, your damages would be $15,000. If you found another job somewhere along the way, simply subtract the amount of wages that you received for the number of weeks that you earned them.

Complications

The computation can be more difficult if you receive semi-periodic payments, such as when you are paid commissions, tips, bonuses or overtime pay. Your attorney can discuss this information with you to help determine a reasonable amount of damages to request.

If you would like more information on computing damages, contact Daily Aljian LLP at 949-861-2524.