Attorneys often depend on forensic accountants to calculate damages in both wrongful termination and employment discrimination cases and subsequently to provide expert witness testimony in cases that make it to the courtroom.

“Whether you are dealing with wrongful termination or employment discrimination, the methodology for calculating damages is similar,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides litigation support services and expert witness testimony in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

“The key basis for calculating damages is the difference between what the plaintiff would have earned over his/her lifetime had the wrongful termination or employment discrimination not occurred and the actual and expected earnings of the plaintiff after having experienced the wrongful termination or employment discrimination,” explained Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

Anderson said the damage calculation is performed as follows:

• First, the beginning date of damages is determined. This typically is the date that the plaintiff was allegedly wrongfully terminated or the date that the employment discrimination allegedly began;
• Then, the wage or salary rate and associated benefits as of the beginning date of damages is identified;
• Next, these rates and benefits are extrapolated through the normal date of retirement (or another date if there is a reasonable basis to assume that the plaintiff would have retired earlier or later than normal retirement age);
• Then, the actual wage or salary rate and associated benefits earned by the plaintiff from the beginning date of damages until the date of the damages calculation are identified;
• The forensic accountant must then extrapolate these rates and benefits through the normal date of retirement (or another date if there is a reasonable basis to assume that the plaintiff would have retired earlier or later than normal retirement age);
• Finally, the difference between the two different extrapolations are calculated.

Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia whose full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley includes litigation support services and expert witness testimony in Philadelphia, said the extrapolations rely upon a number of assumptions, including:

• What the expected career path of the plaintiff would have been had the wrongful termination or employment discrimination not occurred;
• What the actual and expected career path of the plaintiff is due to the wrongful termination or employment discrimination (Typically, the wrongfully terminated person will have a period of unemployment, is likely to have to take a lower level position or a position paying less, etc. Similarly, the person experiencing employment discrimination will either have a harder time finding employment or, if already employed, will have a slower or lower career path.);
• What the associated wage or salary and benefits growth rates would have been for each of the above;
• What the associated benefits would have been for each of the above (this includes insurances, pension or profit-sharing benefits, 401-K contributions and company matches, etc.);
• What mitigating steps the plaintiff has taken or is expected to take in order to obtain employment, and the reasonableness of those steps (for example, if the plaintiff was previously a high powered executive, what is the plaintiff doing to find alternative employment?; what is a reasonable amount of time for finding a new job?; if the plaintiff has found a new job, is it comparable to what would be expected?);
• The rate to use to discount the differences back to present value;
• Any applicable permitted interest on past differences.

Anderson, a forensic accountant whose company offers a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, including expert witness testimony in Philadelphia, said the  forensic accountant/expert witness generally will rely on an associated report by a qualified employment and compensation expert regarding the expected career paths and associated salaries over time, unless the forensic accountant/expert witness also is a qualified expert in that area.

If you need help in calculating damages for wrongful termination or employment discrimination cases, or if you require the services of a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley for any other reason, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at david@davidandersonassociates.com.

About David Anderson & Associates

David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.  The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support services, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services.  Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia with more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Valuation Analyst.  Anderson also has provided expert witness testimony in the Greater Philadelphia area and served as a forensic consultant on both civil and criminal cases.