On May 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the employee-headcount damages cap under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a waivable affirmative defense and that Title VII defendants must explicitly raise the applicable statutory damages limit as an affirmative defense (or at least otherwise timely raise it prior to trial) to be entitled to the benefit of the cap.
Quick Hits
In Khatabi v. Car Auto Holdings LLC, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that an auto dealership failed to plead the statutory damages cap under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so it waived its right to the cap.
The Eleventh Circuit reversed a federal district court’s ruling that applied the statutory damages cap to the sexual harassment claim.
Sexual harassment claims cannot be sent to arbitration, so they are more likely to result in a jury trial.
Under Title VII, the employee-headcount damages cap is $50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 employees; $100,000… Read the complete article here...
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