It’s LITIGATION WEEK here on the Blawg, where all week we’re taking a deep dive into the wonderful world of workplace lawsuits.

Today’s topic: LITIGATION $$$. More specifically: who’s spending what where and why?

Verdicts Up. According to the latest data from Jury Verdict Research, the median award for all types of discrimination claims shot up a whopping 46% in the past year, from $216,575 to $317,032. The mean retaliation verdict also rose substantially — up 51% from $146,050 to $221,250.

What are an employer’s odds of winning at trial? Employers won only 42% of employment lawsuits in the past year. Over the past decade, the lowest win rates were in pregnancy discrimination cases (37%), sex discrimination (38%) and age discrimination (46%). The only type of case in which an employer won greater than 50% of cases was race discrimination (51%).

What are the most common discrimination lawsuits? Sex was #1 (35%), followed by race (25%), disability (15%) and age (13%).

What types of discrimination generate the biggest verdicts? In federal court, disability discrimination was #1, followed by age, sex and race. In state court, age was #1, followed by race, disability and sex.

What employers took the biggest hits? Government entities faced the most claims, followed by manufacturing/industrial, service/retail and then transportation.

Are employers better off in federal or state court? Generally speaking, employers are better off in federal court, where they won 45% of the cases, versus only 40% in state court. Even more siginficant, the median federal award was 45% lower than the median state award.

What about settlements? The median settlement amount was the highest in the past decade at $95,000 — a 5% jump over last year. The biggest settlements were in race cases, followed by sex and disability.

Where can I get more? For the full report — which should be required reading for all HR professionals, business owners and lawyers — click here.

Stay tuned for more.

According to the latest study from Jury Verdict Research, discrimination verdicts are on the rise.  The median award rose a whopping 70%, from $147,500 in 2006 to $252,000 in 2007.

Some other fascinating facts . . .

What are an employer’s chances of winning at trial?

Employers won only 38% of discrimination lawsuits in 2007, the worst win rate of the decade and down from 45% in 2006.  The lowest win rate (30%) was in sex discrimination cases and the highest (43%) was in race discrimination cases.

What employers took the biggest hit?

Manufacturing/industrial had the biggest verdicts, followed by government, transportation and then service/retail.

What forms of discrimination generate the biggest verdicts?

Age discrimination was #1, followed by disability, sex and race.

Are employers better off in federal or state court?

Employers are better off in federal court, where they won 43% of the cases in 2007, versus only 34% in state court.  In addition, the median federal award was 22% lower than the median state award.

What should we expect in the near future?

As we discussed here, employment lawsuits typically rise in a downturn.  So, it’s fairly reasonable to expect the above numbers to continue rising.

Where can I get more?

For the full report – required reading for all HR professionals, business owners and employment lawyers – click here.

Each week, we post a thought-provoking question for your consideration.  Here’s last week’s question, along with your responses.

Which type of discrimination lawsuit is mot likely to result in a big-$$$ verdict?

a.  Age (16%)
b.  Disability (21%)
c.  Gender (19%)
d.  Race (39%)
e.  Religion (4%)

The correct answer is “a.”

According to the latest jury verdict research, age discrimination tops the list for biggest awards in discrimination cases.  The median age discrimination award is more than $250,000.

#2 is disability discrimination at more than $214,000, #3 is gender discrimination at $200,000 and a distant #4 is race discrimination at $167,000.  For more, check out the official Jury Verdict Research site.

Our visitors are now batting a respectable .469 (15 right, 17 wrong) on our weekly questions.  The next one will be coming your way soon.

Thanks for your participation!