AMG’s Labor and Employment Practice Team secured a win before the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals in a discrimination and retaliation case and a reversal of a penalty over an awarded bonus payment to an exempt employee.
In a well-reasoned Judgment, the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals confirmed a decision from the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance dismissing an exempt employee’s claim of unjust dismissal, age discrimination and retaliation, and reversed the trial court’s imposition of a penalty that is only required by law for non-exempt employees.
In this case, after a six-day virtual trial, the trial court concluded that Plaintiff’s allegations were meritless. However, said Court erroneously imposed a penalty over an awarded bonus payment to the Plaintiff, who was an exempt employee. The Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of the claims and also argued that he was entitled to a higher amount regarding his bonus. After the case was fully briefed, AMG’s Labor and Employment Practice Team secured a win when the appellate court not only confirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the unjust dismissal, age discrimination and retaliation claims, but also eliminated the imposed penalty regarding the bonus.
Liana Gutiérrez-Irizarry and Luis Pérez-Giusti of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Team handled the case on behalf of AMG’s client.
