The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a 2006 unanimous federal court jury verdict finding Go Daddy Software, Inc. had retaliated against Youssef Bouamama when it fired him for complaining about discriminatory comments against him. The EEOC sued Go Daddy on Bouamama’s behalf.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit rejected Go Daddy’s challenge to the jury’s finding that the company had engaged in unlawful retaliation. The jury found that Go Daddy terminated Bouamama, a Muslim of Moroccan national origin who speaks Arabic, for complaining about religious and national origin discrimination. The jury verdict included punitive damages in the amount of $250,000, compensatory damages for emotional distress of $5,000, and an advisory verdict of $135,000 for lost wages. U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell subsequently reduced the punitive and compensatory damages award to $200,000 to conform to the statutory caps under the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the back pay amount to $36,552 and awarded prejudgment interest in the amount of $5,156. The total amount is $241,708. Judge Campbell also found Go Daddy had violated federal record keeping requirements when it failed to retain employment applications relevant to the case.

In its complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (CIV 04-2062-PHX-DGC filed Sept. 30, 2004), the EEOC charged that Go Daddy Software, Inc., also known as GODADDY.com, denied a management position to Bouamama for discriminatory reasons. The EEOC said Go Daddy then fired him because of his Moroccan national origin and Muslim religion, and in retaliation for his opposing this unlawful conduct. Bouamama was fired in April 2003. The EEOC also charged that Go Daddy failed to keep personnel records as required by federal law.