The Civil Rights Act (1991)

This act modified the 1964 Civil Rights Act in several ways:

• It provided for employees to receive a jury trial if they wanted. Up to this point, judges always heard cases and decided them from the bench.
• It established requirements for any employer defense.
• It placed a limitation on punitive damage awards by using a sliding scale depending on the size of the employer organization (payroll headcount):
• For employers with 15 to 100 employees, damages are capped at $50,000.
• For employers with 100 to 200 employees, damages are capped at $100,000.
• For employers with 201 to 500 employees, damages are capped at $200,000.
• For employers with more than 500 employees, damages are capped at $300,000.

For more information, see www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/civilrights.html.