TJ Simers gets $14.5M from LA Times

https://deadspin.com/after-retrial-t-j-simers-wins-15-45-million-judgment-1837388089

 

Will this be a best-of-3?

 

All do respect, isn't this what every newspaper/business does when they want to shove someone out the door for age or other reasons? Hell, I think it's in the Gannett SOP.

 

I'm telling you ... journalists aren't suing enough. There are a lot of age discrimination suits available out there. Journalists tend to be so pragmatic they figure, "Ah, it will cost me a ton of money to get lawyers and the big corporation will just beat me in the end." So journalists don't try to sue. I'm telling you. Smart lawyers would be calling reporters after they get axed because age discrimination is rampant, folks. You are just for the most part unwilling to sue.

 

So maybe these journalists shouldn’t just roll over and take it.

 

Suing someone for millions often costs money, which few journalists actually have. Simers made a good living ($234K/year), so he had the ability to do what few others can.

I really think it’s that simple. Most who were pushed out would take their former publication for everything if they could.

 

This might be good enough for Page 1 (not a Phil Collins reference).

 

Damn, maybe I should have been nicer to him during his cup of coffee with the OCR.

 

Honestly, I'd happily fill out one of the post cards to participate in a class-action against Gannett for suppressing wages with bogus reviews.

 

The laws regarding employment, both wages and discrimination related, usually allow for a plaintiff to recover attorneys fees and, more importantly, a doubling or trebling of damages. I don't think lawyers would bill hourly on something like this. He may have had to pay for his appeal.

 

I believe his lawyer took the case on contingency.

 

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Simers as a person, he did the Lord's work here. Now anyone who wants to sue their current or former newspaper employer has an important new club in their legal bag.