(a)(1)  If upon all the testimony taken the commission determines that the respondent has engaged in or is engaging in unlawful employment practices, the commission shall state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on the respondent an order requiring the respondent to cease and desist from the unlawful employment practices, and to take any further affirmative or other action that will effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading of employees with or without back pay, or admission or restoration to union membership, including a requirement for reports of the manner of compliance. Back pay shall include the economic value of all benefits and raises to which an employee would have been entitled had an unfair employment practice not been committed, plus interest on those amounts.

(2)  Where an unlawful employment practice has been established under § 28-5-7.3, the commission need not award hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading with back pay if the respondent establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that it would have taken the same action in the absence of any unlawful motivating factor.

(3)  In appropriate circumstances, attorney’s fees, including expert fees and other litigation expenses, may be granted to the attorney for the plaintiff if he or she prevails. Upon the submission of reports of compliance the commission, if satisfied with the reports, may issue its finding that the respondent has ceased to engage in unlawful employment practices.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-5-24

  • Commission: means the Rhode Island commission against discrimination created by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-5-6
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Employee: means any person who has entered into the employment of or works under contract of service or apprenticeship with any employer, except that in the case of a city or town other than the city of Providence it shall only mean that class or those classes of employees as may be designated by a city, town, or regional school district in a manner provided in this chapter to receive compensation under chapters 29 — 38 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Injury: means and refers to personal injury to an employee arising out of and in the course of his or her employment, connected and referable to the employment. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.

(b)  If the commission finds that the respondent has engaged in intentional discrimination in violation of this chapter, the commission, in addition, may award compensatory damages. The complainant shall not be required to prove that he or she has suffered physical harm or physical manifestation of injury in order to be awarded compensatory damages. As used in this section, the term “compensatory damages” does not include back pay or interest on back pay, and the term “intentional discrimination in violation of this chapter” means any unlawful employment practice except one that is solely based on a demonstration of disparate impact.

History of Section.
P.L. 1949, ch. 2181, § 8; G.L. 1956, § 28-5-24; P.L. 1981, ch. 323, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 135, § 2; P.L. 1991, ch. 343, § 2; P.L. 1992, ch. 447, § 1.