Compensation for workplace discrimination by country
This table shows what each statute lets a discriminated worker claim and whether it sets a ceiling. The United States caps compensatory and punitive damages together on a sliding scale by employer size, up to $300,000, and Canada caps pain and suffering at $20,000. Germany caps the award only for applicants who would not have been hired anyway, at three months of salary, while Norway and Sweden set no figure and leave the amount to what is reasonable or to the aim of deterring violations.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
United States: federal law only. State law is not compared.
| Country | What can be claimed | Statutory cap |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Material loss plus compensation for personal impairment | Minimum of EUR 1,000 for sexual harassment; otherwise an amount that must actually compensate and deter |
| Canada | Lost wages, expenses, and pain and suffering | $20,000 for pain and suffering; a further $20,000 if wilful or reckless |
| Germany | Material damage plus appropriate money compensation for non-material harm | 3 months of salary, only where the applicant would not have been hired anyway |
| Norway | Compensation for financial loss plus redress for non-financial harm | No figure set; redress is what is reasonable |
| Sweden | Discrimination compensation for the violation, plus compensation for loss the employer causes | No figure set; fixed with regard to deterring violations |
| United States | Compensatory and punitive damages, on top of back pay | $50,000 to $300,000 combined, by employer size |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Gleichbehandlungsgesetz § 12
- This is the section on sex discrimination in working life. The Act has parallel sections for other grounds, which are not compared here.
- For harassment the statute sets a floor of EUR 1,000 rather than a ceiling.
zum Ersatz des Vermögensschadens und zu einer Entschädigung für die erlittene persönliche Beeinträchtigung verpflichtetangemessenen, mindestens jedoch auf 1 000 Euro Schadenersatztatsächlich und wirksam ausgeglichen wird und die Entschädigung der erlittenen Beeinträchtigung angemessen ist sowie Diskriminierungen verhindert Canada
- Rule
- Canadian Human Rights Act s. 53
- Federal sector only: the Canadian Human Rights Act covers federally regulated employers.
- Wages and expenses are not capped by this section.
that the person compensate the victim for any or all of the wages that the victim was deprived of and for any expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the discriminatory practiceby an amount not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, for any pain and suffering that the victim experienced as a result of the discriminatory practicesuch compensation not exceeding twenty thousand dollars to the victim as the member or panel may determine if the member or panel finds that the person is engaging or has engaged in the discriminatory practice wilfully or recklessly Germany
- Rule
- Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz § 15
- Applies to employers. The claim must be made in writing within two months unless a collective agreement says otherwise.
- Where a collective agreement is applied, the employer owes compensation only for intent or gross negligence.
kann der oder die Beschäftigte eine angemessene Entschädigung in Geld verlangenDie Entschädigung darf bei einer Nichteinstellung drei Monatsgehälter nicht übersteigen, wenn der oder die Beschäftigte auch bei benachteiligungsfreier Auswahl nicht eingestellt worden wäre. Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 13-9
- The worker can claim whether or not the employer is to blame for the discrimination.
kan kreve oppreisning og erstatning uavhengig av om arbeidsgiveren kan bebreides for diskrimineringenOppreisning for ikke-økonomisk skade fastsettes til det som er rimelig ut fra skadens omfang og art Sweden
- Rule
- Diskrimineringslag (2008:567) 5 kap. 1 §
- The employer does not owe compensation for loss caused by a hiring or promotion decision, or by a failure to provide accessibility.
- The compensation can be reduced in whole or in part if there are special reasons.
ska betala diskrimineringsersättning för den kränkning som överträdelsen innebärNär ersättningen bestäms ska särskilt syftet att motverka sådana överträdelser av lagen beaktas.Om det finns särskilda skäl kan ersättningen sättas ned helt eller delvis. United States
- Rule
- 42 U.S.C. § 1981a
- Federal law only, for intentional discrimination. The cap covers future pecuniary losses, emotional pain and other nonpecuniary losses together with punitive damages.
- Back pay and interest on back pay are not counted as compensatory damages, so they sit outside the cap.
- Employers with 14 or fewer employees are not in the scale.
the complaining party may recover compensatory and punitive damages as allowed in subsection (b)Compensatory damages awarded under this section shall not include backpay, interest on backpaymore than 14 and fewer than 101 employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, $50,000more than 500 employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, $300,000 Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom, Australia, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Japan are left out because the ingested statutes do not state a compensation rule for discrimination at work (the UK Equality Act 2010, for example, is not ingested).
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Compensation for workplace discrimination by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/discrimination-compensation (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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