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MMA Body Slam of $3.2 Million

By Michael W. Fox, Esq.

$3.2 million is the total jury award to former Tapou T sales representative, Michelle Thomas, from a Los Angeles state jury. The jury first awarded $840,000 in compensatory damages, and then after finding the acts of the employer were with malice, added an additional $2.4 million. Jury Awards $2.4 Million in Punitive Damages to Ex-Employee of Apparel Firm

Although the newspaper article calls it a wrongful termination claim, the facts emphasized in the article were that Thomas was not paid the commissions she was promised, had to work 70 to 80 hours a week without overtime compensation, had to pay out of pocket for cable subscriptions that would allow her to watch the Tapou T show which airs on the Versus network, and one that particularly seemed to be galling that

she was roundly criticized by a supervisor for not watching one required program on her birthday.

I must admit that I had never heard of Tapou T and don't know a whole lot more about Mixed Martial Arts fighting, much less that there was a reality tv show about developing new fighters. And so my headline reference to body slam is probably an inappropriate reference that goes back fifty years ago when I watched professional wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium with my grandfather.

At least back then, body slams were a big thing. Regardless of whether its an MMA term or not, it's likely that Tapou T is feeling pretty slammed today.

Full post as published by Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer on January 25, 2011 (boomark / email).