Opinion ID: 1443016
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Self-Employment

Text: The court could reasonably have determined that evidence of Smith's income from hauling wood was speculative and that the income he gained from the activity was sporadic and uncertain, and thus it reasonably refused to offset the damage award. Once discrimination has been proved, the employer bears the burden of uncertainty in damage calculation. See Hairston, 520 F.2d at 233. Because Smith was discriminatorily denied his employment, there is evidence he lost income. Although the court must mitigate damages if there is evidence supporting such a determination, see Vigil v. Arzola, 102 N.M. 682, 689, 699 P.2d 613, 620 (Ct.App. 1983), rev'd on other grounds, 101 N.M. 687, 687 P.2d 1038 (1984), overruled on other grounds, Chavez v. Manville Prod. Corp., 108 N.M. 643, 777 P.2d 371 (1989), we find that the court here could properly determine that the evidence of mitigation presented was too speculative to require that Smith's income from hauling wood should be applied to offset the damage award.