West v. Nabors Drilling USA, Inc.

Thomas West (plaintiff) worked for Nabors Drilling USA, Inc. (Nabors) (defendant) as a drilling rig supervisor. When West was 60 years old, Nabors terminated him and replaced him with a 38-year-old employee. West’s salary was $63,596.47. During the December 10, 1998, discharge conversation, West’s supervisor told him to reach out because the supervisor might be able to rehire him. Over the next couple of months, West contacted the supervisor three or four times, delaying seeking employment elsewhere pending a rehire determination. However, by February 1999, West needed money to support his family. On February 15, he obtained a truck-driver job at a construction company. The nonsupervisory position paid only $7.00 an hour. When business declined, West obtained a truck-driver job at another company, earning between $7.50 and $10.25 an hour. After starting the original driver job on February 15, West did not make any efforts to seek employment in a role substantially equivalent to his former role at Nabors. In a suit against Nabors for willful age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), West sought backpay covering lost wages from his termination to the time of judgment. He also sought liquidated damages in an amount equal to awarded backpay, which was proper under the ADEA if an employer’s violation was willful. Nabors argued that backpay, and thus liquidated damages, were inappropriate because West failed to properly mitigate his damages. The district-court jury held in West’s favor on the willful-discrimination claim and awarded West $115,000 in backpay for December 1998 to judgment and another $115,000 in liquidated damages. Nabors appealed.