How does an employee establish a claim for punitive damages?
An employer can be liable for punitive damages if an officer, director, or managing agent intends to injure a plaintiff or acts despicably with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others or subjects a person to cruel and unjust hardship. Under California Civil Code section 3294(b), an employer shall not be liable for punitive damages based upon acts of an employee of the employer, unless the employer had advance knowledge of the unfitness of the employee and employed him or her with a conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others or authorized or ratified the wrongful conduct for which the damages are awarded or was personally guilty of oppression, fraud or malice. With respect to a corporate employer, the advance knowledge and conscious disregard, authorization, ratification or act of oppression, fraud, or malice must be on the part of an officer, director or managing agent of the corporation. (1)”Malice” means conduct which is intended by the defendan
