An Act To Increase Caps on Damages in Actions under the Maine Human Rights Act
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1372
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: MILLS
Amends: 5 MRSA §4613

Legislative Document 
No. 1372 
H.P.964 
House of Representatives, March 13,2007 
An Act To Increase Caps on Damages in Actions under the Maine 
Human Rights Act 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative MILLS of Farmington. 
Primed on recycled paper 
Il/~/J?~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §4613, sub-§2, ~, as amended by PL 1997, c. 400, § 1, IS 
further amended to read: 
B. If the court finds that unlawful discrimination occurred, its judgment must specify 
an appropriate remedy or remedies for that discrimination. 
The remedies may 
include, but are not limited to: 
(1) An order to cease and desist from the unlawful practices specified in the 
order; 
(2) 
An order to employ or reinstate a victim of unlawful employment 
discrimination, with or without back pay; 
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(3) An order to accept or reinstate such a person in a union; 
(4) 
An order to rent or sell a specified housing accommodation, or one 
substantially identical to that accommodation if controlled by the respondent, to a 
victim of unlawful housing discrimination; 
(5) An order requiring the disclosure of the locations and descriptions of all 
housing accommodations that the violator has the right to sell, rent, lease or 
manage; 
and forbidding the sale, 
rental 
or lease of those 
housing 
accommodations until the violator has given security to as-sttfe ensure compliance 
with any order entered against the violator and with all provisions of this Act. An 
order may continue the court's jurisdiction until the violator has demonstrated 
compliance; and may defer decision on some or all relief until after a 
probationary period and a further hearing on the violator's conduct during that 
period; 
(6) An order to pay the victim, in cases of unlawful price discrimination, 3 times 
the amount of any excessive price demanded and paid by reason of that unlawful 
discrimination; 
(7) 
An order to pay to the victim of unlawful discrimination, other than 
employment discrimination in the case of a respondent who has more than 14 
employees, or, if the commission brings action on behalf of the victim, an order 
to pay to the victim, the commission or both, civil penal damages not in excess of 
$1 (:),(:)(:)(:) $20,000 in the case of the first order under this Act against the 
respondent, not in excess of $25,(:)(:)(:) $50,000 in the case of a 2nd order against 
the respondent arising under the same subchapter of 1his Act and not in excess of 
$5(:),(:)(:)(:) $100,000 in the case of a 3rd or subsequent order against the respondent 
arising under the same subchapter of this Act, except that the total amount of 
civil penal damages awarded in any action filed under this Act may not exceed 
the limits contained in this subparagraph; 
(8) 
In cases of intentional employment discrimination, compensatory and 
punitive damages as provided in this subparagraph. 
(a) In an action brought by a complaining party under section 4612 and this 
section against a respondent who engaged in unlawful intentional 
Page I - 123LR2388(Ol)-1 
discrimination prohibited under sections 4571 to 4575, if the complaining 
party can not recover under 42 United States Code, Section J 981 (1994), the 
complaining party may recover compensatory and punitive damages as 
allowed in this subparagraph in addition to any relief authorized elsewhere in 
this subsection from the respondent. 
(b) When a discriminatory practice involves the provision of a reasonable 
accommodation, damages may not be awarded under this subparagraph when 
the covered entity demonstrates good faith efforts, in consultation with the 
person with the disability who has informed the covered entity that 
accommodation is needed, to identify and make a reasonable accommodation 
that would provide that individual with an equally effective opportunity and 
would not cause an undue hardship on the operation of the business. 
(c) 
A complaining party may recover punitive damages under this 
subparagraph against a respondent if the complaining party demonstrates that 
the respondent engaged in a discriminatory practice or discriminatory 
practices with malice or with reckless indifference to the rights of an 
aggrieved individual protected by this Act. 
(d) Compensatory damages awarded under this subparagraph do not include 
back pay, interest on back payor any other type of relief authorized 
elsewhere under this subsection. 
(e) The sum of compensatory damages awarded under this subparagraph for 
future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental 
anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, other nonpecuniary losses and the amount 
of punitive damages awarded under this section may not exceed for each 
complaining party: 
(i) In the case of a respondent who has more than 14 and fewer than 101 
employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or 
preceding calendar year, $50,000; 
(ii) In the case of a respondent who has more than 100 and fewer than 
I employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or 
preceding calendar year, $100,000; 
(iii) In the case of a respondent who has more than 200 and fewer than 
employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or 
preceding calendar year, $200,000 $300,000; and 
(iv) In the case of a respondent who has more than 500 employees in 
each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar 
year, $300,000 $500,000. 
(f) Nothing in this subparagraph may be construed to limit the scope of, or 
the relief available under, 42 United States Code, Section 1981 (1994). 
(g) If a complaining party seeks compensatory or punitive damages under 
this subparagraph, any party may demand a trial by jury,. and the court may 
not inform the jury of the limitations described in division (e). 
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(h) This subparagraph does not apply to recoveries for a practice that IS 
unlawful only because of its disparate impact. 
(i) Punitive damages may not be included in a judgment or award against a 
governmental entity, as defined in Title 14, section 8102, subsection 2, or 
against an employee of a governmental entity based on a claim that arises out 
of an act or omission occurring within the course or scope of that employee's 
employment; and 
(9) In addition to other remedies in subparagraphs (1) to (8), an order to pay 
actual damages in the case of discriminatory housing practices. 
This 
subparagraph is not intended to limit actual damages available to a plaintiff 
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alleging other discrimination if the remedy of actual damages is otherwise 
available under this Act. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the caps on damages in actions brought under the Maine Human 
Rights Act.